MDC to push case for good governance at AU summit in Ethiopia

By Tichaona Sibanda
22 January 2008

Despite reports that the Zimbabwe crisis is not on the agenda at the AU summit, there may still be some debate. The 10th African Union summit begins in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this weekend.

While analysts believe some leaders on the continent support Robert Mugabe, thereby limiting debate, the MDC want the AU to tackle the issue of bad governance during this summit.

Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro, the MDC secretary for International Affairs, said the AU has to realise there are now pressing issues on the continent that need to be resolved before more blood is shed on the streets.

‘In the case of Zimbabwe and Kenya, the African Union has been found wanting. They have failed completely to bring together rivals to talk peace in the two countries. The results of this failure are there for everyone to see,’ Mukonoweshuro said.

During the summit, the 53-nation AU is expected to reignite debate on newer issues like the African diaspora and developments in the continent’s conflicts. These two issues relate to the problems in Zimbabwe where millions of citizens based outside the country find themselves unable to participate in the country’s elections. There also has been no development in the country since the disputed parliamentary elections eight years ago.

Mukonoweshuro, who is in London on a working visit, said their message to the AU would be to resolve problems of governance first so that an environment can be created which would be conducive to economic pursuit and economic enterprise.

‘It’s a tragedy that the AU doesn’t have a yardstick by which they can measure effective governance and democratic governance. The continental body still has a problem of legitimising problematic governments by side-stepping or totally ignoring issues brought against such regimes,’ he said.