Kikwete unmasks what it means to be AU chairman

Mr Kikwete who has since been replaced by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as AU chairman, told of a post whose occupant did not have clear tasks except opening and closing meetings and handing over to the new chairman once his or her term ends.

In his speech, Mr Ban called for a date to be set for elections in Cote d’Ivoire and denounced “unconstitutional changes in Guinea and Mauritania’’.

Mr Ban told of the negative effects of the global financial crisis on African countries and that ways should be found to cushion the least developed countries.