Summit on Burundi's peace process

The Regional Peace Initiative chaired by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni held a summit on Burundi’s peace process, which has included over twenty summits resulting the surrender of six of the country’s seven former rebel movements. Future meetings are expected to take drastic measures should the PALIPEHUTU-FNL, the one armed group that has yet to join the regional peace initiative, should they not meet the 31 December deadline to implement the comprehensive ceasefire accord. Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) observer mission to the Ghanaian presidential and parliamentary elections has praised the country’s political maturity and advised political parties to exercise restraint while waiting for the electoral commission to announce official results. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has called on the chairperson of the AU, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, to oust President Robert Mugabe and end the humanitarian catastrophe, political stalemate and economic meltdown perpetrated against the Zimbabwean people.

The AU, worried about gender disparity in its member States, is planning to adopt a new gender policy that aims to promote women’s access to and control over resources, knowledge, information, land and business ownership and to achieve the enforcement of human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment at international, continental and national level. A new report released by the International Labour Organisation concludes that African women are not benefiting from the continent’s economic boom because of low-wages and a lack of social protection. “Women have little choice but to work...but nonetheless, poverty persists, implying a grave malfunction of the labour market”, says the report. In other economic news, the AU vice president called on African governments to allow farmers to engage in viable business ventures without interference, thus avoiding over-regulation, and announced that the organisation has a comprehensive agricultural policy to ensure food security in Africa. Further, it is suggested that Africa could be the breadbasket for the Gulf Cooperation Council providing valuable water and food supplies to the entire region as it is already suffering from rising food prices, caused by inflation in exporting countries.

In other news, kings, princes, dignitaries and traditional chiefs of Africa called on African leaders to establish a Union Government to help lift the continent from poverty, disease and hunger. AU chairperson Jean Ping, in an interview with NEWSWEEK’s Jason McLure, also stated his belief in the United States of Africa, be it a confederation, a federation, or a centralised government, to help establish peace and stability in the continent. Finally, members of parliament from the Southern Africa Development Community member States, during their plenary assembly, called for the forum to be turned into a fully functional regional parliament with legislative powers.