AU celebrates 62nd anniversary
JOHANNESBURG - It's Africa Day and we are celebrating the 62nd anniversary of the African Union.
Its Agenda 2063 aims to transform Africa into a global powerhouse.
But first, the continent must meet the goal of silencing the guns by 2030.
So, is there hope for an African Renaissance, or will it remain a dream deferred?
We discuss this with historian Professor Pitika Ntuli.
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IOL News
5 days ago
- IOL News
Africa Month shows that our continent is yet to benefit Africans
Pan-Africanist revolutionary and former Burkinabe President Thomas Sankara once said you cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. Image: Pascal George REVERED Pan-Africanist revolutionary and former Burkinabe President Thomas Sankara once firmly stated: 'You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. It comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future.' These sobering words have been significantly indisputable as we swiftly conclude the month of May, Africa Month, marked by Africa Day celebrations on May 25. This is the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now known as the African Union (AU). At the 1963 formation of the OAU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the crème-de-la-creme of African leadership came out in throngs in order to advance continental solidarity, and eradicate Western imperialism. In fact, the OAU was formed upon the foundations of Pan-Africanism and self-determination, by leaders who epitomised those values wholeheartedly. As such, this 2025 Africa Month has presented a momentous occasion to not only celebrate the 62nd anniversary of this revolutionary body but also to spotlight the grievous challenges that still plague contemporary Africa. Novelist George Orwell once wrote: 'The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous… The object of war is not to destroy but to preserve a state of controlled desperation.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading This echoes the state of conflicts that ravage contemporary African societies. Across the continent, wars have been proliferating rapidly since 2010. Today, we see headlines of the wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Mozambique, and the Horn of Africa make the headlines, often overshadowed by Western media's spotlighting of other conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Meanwhile, the African continent is experiencing more conflicts than at any point since at least 1946. In fleeting moments, we observe the painful horrors of war unfolding in the Congo, Sudan, and Mozambique emerge into the news cycles, but are quickly — and too often — drowned out by Euro-Western media's dominant, selective spotlighting of Ukraine and Gaza conflicts. According to Statista, today, over 10 million of Sudan's near-50 million inhabitants are internally displaced, and nearly 1.8 million have fled to other countries. According to the UN Refugee Agency, the Eastern DRC has been absolutely devastated and distorted by war, with over 7.3 million people displaced within the country, and more than 86 000 forced to flee to neighbouring countries. These wars are frighteningly only fragments of a much larger reality: Today, more than 35 non-international armed conflicts continue to wreak havoc across Africa — many of them underreported, and many more forgotten. Rampant war, civil conflicts, widespread poverty and forced displacement are certainly the straw that broke the camel's back in the mountain of problems that modern Africans contend with. However, major conflicts are not random, nor senseless. They are often the result of decades of neglect, greed, and failed leadership. They are born from fractured systems that deny people food, education, and dignity. They are fueled by poverty, corruption, and inequality. From dilapidated healthcare systems to mass unemployment to atrocious public service delivery, Africa is cracking under the weight of injustice, and these are the results. We must confront these roots, not just their violent consequences. For far too long, African nations have haphazardly embraced foreign-imposed structures and systems to rule African people. For far too long, these systems have been chastised and criticised, with very little reform. This is what the AU must be taking the reins on. African nations contend with a plethora of challenges. However, the biggest failure of bodies such as the AU is embracing structures that are designed to fail the many, while enriching the few. Contemporary African societies certainly reflect the harsh echoes of a long history of exploitation, instability, and neglect. However, modern day leadership is not effectively or sustainably engaging Africans in shaping a better Africa. Many of Africa's leaders are oftentimes condemned not just for failing to lift people out of poverty, but for actively preserving the inequality and corruption that keep them in power. However, wars and power struggles are not the only challenges faced by Africans or the AU. Outreach International stated that Africa has the highest rates of extreme poverty across the globe. Furthermore, a report by Compassion International revealed that 42 African nations, out of the 54 in the continent, live in severe poverty. This is an outrageous 78% of the continent. Contrarily, Africa is the richest continent by far in minerals and resource wealth. According to the UN Environment Programme, not only does Africa hold a significant chunk of the global oil reserves, it also holds 40% of the world's gold and about 90% of its chromium and platinum — with a significant share of global mining reserves in cobalt, diamonds, uranium, and various other valuable minerals. The contrast between Africa's wealth in mineral resources and its debilitating rates of poverty goes hand-in-hand. Our abundance has not translated into prosperity for the majority because our resources are exceedingly exploited, not only by foreign interests, but also by local elites who profit from backdoor deals, opaque contracts, and exclusionary systems. While billions are made from gold, oil, and cobalt, too many Africans still lack clean water, electricity, and access to basic healthcare. This is not a natural misfortune; it is a manufactured injustice, upheld by corruption, substandard governance, and global complicity. These are the human rights and dignities that are supposed to be upheld not only by governments across Africa, but by the AU itself. What's worse is the state of education across countless African nations. The crisis in Africa's education systems is not just about underfunded schools or overcrowded classrooms; it is rooted in a deeper, more insidious, imperialist legacy. Much of our formal education remains trapped in a colonial framework, designed not to liberate but to condition. In fact, this largely Eurocentric framework has been the foundation of critique in post-colonial African societies. As the late Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o once powerfully stated, 'The domination of a people's language by the languages of the colonising nations was crucial to the domination of the mental universe of the colonised.' To this day, African children are taught to memorize foreign histories while their own are erased, to speak in tongues that deny them access to their cultural identity, and to chase validation through imported curricula that ignore local and lived realities. Indigenous knowledge systems, rich in ecological wisdom, philosophy, communal ethics, and more, are sidelined or dismissed as inferior. This is not just a failure of the education system, it is its weaponisation. Any education system that alienates a child from their land, language, and lineage is not education, it is blatant indoctrination. It is the method employed by colonial rulers that seeks to literally erase the African identity, and discard African knowledge. The AU needs to centre its gaze upon this challenge, as it is one of the most pivotal keys to continental transformation and empowerment. As revered Pan-Africanist and Black Consciousness pioneer Steve Bantu Biko once purposefully wrote: 'The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.' The fact is that Africa would not be so rife with conflict and adversity if it were not something truly special. Africa's challenges are not rooted in its people, but in the persistent failure of systems built to serve the few, or outrightly serve foreign interests. However, these are the minerals and resources that build phones, computers, planes, factories, extensive infrastructure, complex structures, and various types of technologies. These resources are invaluable to the world, and they should be protected with the same ferocity. Collaboration and cooperation is not difficult to achieve, and is certainly not restricted to African continental zones. African nations that have an abundance of critical exports such as oil, foods, medicines, must be working together with all other African nations in establishing trade relations. African nations will go far if they bring serious focus to dependence on one another, above everybody else. The AU must be the driving force of this unification, identifying and connecting common economies and industries across the continent. The work of the AU is much more profound than they may realise. The AU must diligently do the work of imparting the values of Pan-Africanism, unity and the upliftment of human rights. Whether it's evident or not, the spirits of Kwame Nkrumah, Haile Selassie, Leopold Senghor, Sekou Toure, Julius Nyerere, and the other prolific founding members of the OAU remain embedded in the souls of African nations. Esteemed Pan-African revolutionary and founder of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), Robert Sobukwe, strongly affirmed this truth when he said:'We are fighting for the noblest cause on earth… the liberation of mankind.' This Africa Month, and everyday forth, may we remember the core of pan-Africanism: Africa is for Africans. * Tswelopele Makoe is a gender and social justice activist and the editor at Global South Media Network. She is a researcher, columnist and an Andrew W Mellon scholar at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, UWC. The views expressed are her own. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media or IOL.
IOL News
6 days ago
- IOL News
Revive the Tana High-level forum: Facilitate the re-establishment of African Renaissance Clubs
, I urge the two Foundations to include the revival of the Tana High-level forum in their immediate flagship programme so that the human and intellectual capital served in the forum can use their institutional memory to guide and advise the envisaged clubs, the writer says. Image: File Sixteen years ago, the African Union (AU) convened a summit of heads of state in Tripoli, Libya, to analyse, among other matters, the state of conflicts, peace, and security across the continent. The summit resolved to eliminate the ongoing conflicts and promote sustainable peace and security throughout the continent. These heads of African states committed to implementing this resolution within the 'African-centred solutions to peace and security' framework. However, three years after that 2009 AU summit and following the wave of violent conflicts characterised as the 'Arab Spring' in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya and others, the Tana High-Level Forum was established in 2012 as a centre for Pan-African conversation and facilitation of the practical realisation of the summit resolution. This high-level forum has evolved into an informal strategic platform for key decision-makers and civil society organisations (CSOs) across the continent to meet and not only exchange best practices, experiences, and ideas on conflict resolution, peace, and security, but also African ideas and thoughts. Interestingly, the forum adopted a baobab tree as its logo because historically, African 'Kings and elders would hold meetings under the baobab tree, with the belief that the tree's spirits would guide them in decision-making. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ It symbolises a meeting place where communities and individuals gather to share stories, conversations and wisdom among the young and the elders.' In October 2022, the Tana Forum celebrated a decade of existence; it is important to note that African women, Dr Hesphina Rukato, Ms Michelle Ndiaye and Ms Lettie Langwe have coordinated this initiative throughout this period. The forum has established itself as a genuine platform for exchanging ideas, showcasing well-researched Pan-African papers that set the agenda for the AU and commission meetings. It also aims to implement the call for 'African solutions to African problems'. Although this call is critiqued by some Africans, who argue that certain problems do not necessarily originate in Africa, I maintain that it is still critical because the intention is for African leaders to take ownership of Africa's destiny and foster collective self-reliance to activate African agency and promote Pan-African ideas in the 'global Africa'. I contend that the establishment of this high-level forum thirteen years ago has created a networking platform for Africans and produced crucial African literature that can serve as the foundation and reservoir of an indigenous knowledge system for the (re)-establishment of the African Renaissance Clubs, as proclaimed by a member of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation Advisory Council, Ambassador Ami Mpunguwe, during the 15th Thabo Mbeki Annual African Day Lecture in Tanzania. That in the coming months, the Thabo Mbeki, Julius Nyerere Foundations and other stakeholders will work on establishing Renaissance clubs from Dar es Salaam to the diaspora. These clubs aim to revive the Pan-African movement, igniting and accelerating the African Renaissance and agency by nurturing thought leaders, thinkers, and doers in the quest to realise the vision and dreams of the founding leaders of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). I am confident that the TM Foundation has critically assessed the factors contributing to the decline of the previous Renaissance and Pan African structure and the Pan-African movement on the continent and has drawn valuable lessons from the movement in the diaspora. This assessment is necessary to avert the repetition of history, especially considering that the task ahead is daunting, as there is an argument that Africa is more dependent today than it was at the dawn of independence more than six decades ago. Therefore, I urge the two Foundations to include the revival of the Tana High-level forum in their immediate flagship programme so that the human and intellectual capital served in the forum can use their institutional memory to guide and advise the envisaged clubs. Already, the forum has produced research papers and recommendations that the African Union never implemented due to its leadership crisis and lack of political will to drive the African agenda and inspire hope to Africans. The foundations would need funding and partnerships to implement this critical Pan-African initiative. However, I posit that potential funders and partners must be critically examined. Because I argue that the Tana High-level forum was, to a greater extent, weakened by the external funders and partners with their nefarious agendas, according to one of the first women to coordinate the forum, Dr Rukato, the forum was started with six funders and partners with Ethiopia and its entities as core funder, and the structure generated significant interest among funders and partners on and beyond the continent, for example at the launch of the forum, German, Chinese and Indian governments had already developed interests to fund, however ten years later the forum had twenty six funders and partners. Dr Rukato asserts that this increasing sponsorship was needed. However, it created challenges for the forum because specific funders and partners began to organise parallel events and diluted the format and programmes of the forum; this unfortunate situation affected the quality of debates because the sponsors focused more on promoting themselves at the expense of the forum. I still argue that the AU and its member states must reset the engagement with the external partners and craft criteria in selecting funders and partnerships. This criterion must also be used to assess how the current partnerships and funders are assisting in implementing the AU Agenda 2063. Africa must rise, defend and advance its African-centred approach to development. In my view, the Tana High-level Forum was, in its initial stages, a true African Parliament, even more effective than the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) based in Midrand, South Africa. I agree with Dr. Rukato that 'a formal review of the forum is necessary as part of marking its 10th anniversary and adapting it to new and emerging factors that may have arisen in the past decade.' As an aspirant Pan-African scholar, I call on all Africans in the 'global Africa', to support this great initiative of the Thabo Mbeki and Julius Nyerere foundations to (re) establish the African renaissance clubs, however, we must also make a call for an incorporation of the revival of the Tana High-level forum in the broader strategic plan of the foundations. Orapeleng Matshediso is a Masters graduate of Pan African Development Studies and Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg (Institute for Pan African Thought and Conversation). The author is also an alumnus of the then Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI). Orapeleng Matshediso is a Masters graduate of Pan African Development Studies and Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg (Institute for Pan African Thought and Conversation). Image: Supplied. BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
IOL News
29-05-2025
- IOL News
The State's commitment to BEE is in doubt
Sandile Mdadane is the Editor of the Sunday Tribune Image: File The proposed policy direction by the Minister of Communications and Digital Technology to relax the broad-based black economic empowerment (BBEE) terms to enable billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink to enter the South African market without fully complying with the law is not only a travesty of justice but also sets a bad precedent. The move undermines the transformation agenda of BBBEE, which aims to address the historical inequities. The government gazette proposal follows hot on the heels of an Oval Office meeting between US President Donald Trump and President Cyril Ramaphosa, where the latter continued to push his baseless white genocide claim. Musk, who was born in South Africa, has repeated the false claim that his Starlink has been blocked from operating locally because he is white, omitting the fact that it has to be BEE compliant. It is particularly sad that on Africa Day, celebrated on May 25, the South African government's commitment to redress policies is in doubt as it bends over backwards to feed the impulses of the richest man in the world. A businessman who's made it his mission to spread lies about a country of his birth. Despite all the evidence that has been presented, Musk has continued with the lie that white South Africans are being targeted for mass murder and their land and property are being taken away from them. Yet the South African government has chosen to bend the rules for Starlink. In the Oval Office meeting, the richest man in South Africa, Johann Rupert, who was part of Ramaphosa's delegation, openly bid for Starlink. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Recently, Musk's chatbot Grok malfunctioned and exposed how it's being manipulated to spread false narratives. This shows how dangerous Musk is to South Africa's national security and social cohesion if his Starlink is allowed to operate locally without any scrutiny and full compliance. The speed with which the government showed in wanting to relax the rules for Starlink is at sharp odds with how it treats many small black businesses, some who've gone belly up because their invoices remain unpaid. Sandile Mdadane is the Editor of the Sunday Tribune. The views expressed are his own. SUNDAY TRIBUNE
