The new African Union Chairman Muammar Gaddafi of Libya has been warned to project the collective views and demands of Africa and not his personal views at the upcoming G-20 summit.
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda cautioned the AU leader to always put Africa first as he nominated three presidents to represent Africa at the G-20 summit in April. They are the President of Tanzanian Jakaya Kikwete, African Union Chairman Muammar Gaddafi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Museveni stated: “Go and explain the views and demands of African not your own when you attend the summit in the UK.”
Global crisis
Zenawi said: “Many African nations are going through the effects of the global financial crisis amidst fears of collapse of some of the nations. The global financial crisis is not a one year phenomenon, it will likely be worse in the future.”
The 12th AU summit ended this week on the theme, “Infrastructure and Development In Africa.” The issues affecting most leaders touched on the global financial crisis.
Member countries gave an overview on the crisis. However, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was unhappy the world has neglected his country. “Is my country not a country like any other yet we cannot get any loans,” he charged.
Zimbabwe is still reeling from the cholera outbreak that has claimed an estimated 3,000 lives according to WHO statistics coupled with dire economic and political crisis.
(Jack Shaka, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya)
