Regional blocs tackle Africa’s economic and security woes

In the face of recurrent claims that the media usually focuses on only the most negative developments in Africa, it is always a pleasure, when the opportunity arises, to be able to report positively on the continent.

The past few weeks have produced such opportunities in the form of regional efforts to resolve the continent’s problems through concerted efforts by states.

A case in point was the East African Community 16th heads of state summit in Nairobi on Friday, during which Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete took over the chairmanship from Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Attended by the heads of state of EAC member countries Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, the meeting was also graced by South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit, who was a guest.

The South Sudan president’s presence was an indication of his eagerness to have his country admitted into the regional community alongside Somalia, which has for a long time yearned to join the regional bloc.

Earlier in the week, the 10-member Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) was reportedly holding an extraordinary summit on terrorism in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé.

The importance of the summit was underscored by the fact that it was attended by all the leaders of the region, including Presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon and Catherine Samba Panza of the Central African Republic.

Also at last week’s ECCAS summit were Presidents Idriss Deby Itno of Chad, Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea and Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon.

At the same time, a few other countries with a stake in the stability of the expansive region were represented by government ministers, and included Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sao Tome and Principe.

The crucial summit, which was a follow-up to recommendations made by African leaders during last month’s AU summit in Addis Ababa, was aimed at tightening the noose around Boko Haram, whose prolonged activities in the region and in West Africa have been threatening stability in a number of countries.

In its turn, the Addis summit sought ways to appropriately activate anti-terror mechanisms on the continent, among them the Mutual Assistance Pact between sub-region states.

Also underscored at the summit was the importance of applying the relevant provisions of the Protocol on the Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa, which is among the mechanisms developed to implement a strategy aimed at supporting Cameroon and Chad in their fight against terrorism.

Poignantly, the Yaoundé meeting was held soon after another of military chiefs of staff and police commanders from the ECCAS bloc. Participants had reportedly come up with a strategy to be submitted for approval by the bloc’s leaders.

An important outcome of the Yaounde summit was that Presidents Nguema and Sassou-Nguesso were tasked with contacting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to convince him to increase his country’s cooperation with other nations in the fight against Boko Haram.

Another crucial outcome of the summit was that ECCAS undertook to urgently raise 50 billion FCFA (about $87 million) to help Cameroon’s and Chad’s campaign against Boko Haram.

The bloc will also put more soldiers on the ground and provide air cover, health assistance and military equipment for the troops.

Back in Nairobi, a communiqué issued at the end of the EAC summit indicated that the earliest South Sudan and Somalia could expect to be admitted to the regional bloc is next year.

To observers of African politics, summits like the ones held last week are likely to become the best means of dealing with African problems, reducing dependence on the intervention of bureaucracies like the African Union and the UN, which are known to move excruciatingly slowly when dealing with the continent’s woes.