AU to send delegation to G-20 meeting

The 12th summit of the African Union has resolved to send a strong team to the G-20 summit to be held in London in April to make Africa’s case amid a global economic turmoil which poses serious consequences for this continent.

At a meeting on Tuesday, leaders of Senegal, Mali, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Africa and Somalia spoke on possible measures to avert severe consequences on poor nations.

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, warned of serious consequences for Africa and even collapse of some countries.

“The global financial crisis is not a one year phenomenon it will likely be more worse in the future,” he said.

Mr Meles said the darkening clouds of the global economy are in the case of Africa made worse by climate change that is causing global warming, adding that Africa should insist on the reform of international institutions for the interest of all.

He said the vulnerability of Africa’s economies amid the crisis is mainly because Africa relies on Western markets for most of its primary products such as coffee or tea.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni expressed concern about the unpredictable and unhealthy trend of African economies, but disagreed with Mr Meles on fears of possible collapse of some African countries amid the crisis.

Mr Museveni gave the example of Uganda where “coffee and cotton exports are declining but the number of mobile telephone users has increased from two million to eight million within one and a half years.”

About the G-20 summit, Mr Museveni nominated three African leaders to attend the summit.

He said those who should attend the summit are: Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi and newly elected AU chairman Muammar Gaddafi.

He said, addressing the Libyan leader: “My good brother Gaddafi you should go to UK and explain views and demands of Africans not yours”.

Initially South Africa and the African commission chairman Jean Ping were mentioned as possible participants at the G-20 summit.

During the same debate on the global financial crisis, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe accused Western nations and international financial institutions among them the IMF and World Bank of not allowing his country to borrow money for infrastructure and other development projects.

An enraged Mr Mugabe thundered: “Is my country not a country like any other yet we cannot get any loans?’’