|
Kikwete agitates for stronger African unity
2006-04-12 07:49:17
By Beatrice Bandawe, Pretoria
President Jakaya Kikwete has said the African continent needs to unite and work as a team, if it is to effectively tackle the challenges taking place in the world.
Kikwete made the call when presenting a paper on The Position of Tanzania in Africa and the World and Challenges that Tanzania and Africa are Generally Facing at a roundtable discussion in Pretoria prepared by Programme on Africa Intellectuals College of Human Science, University of South Africa.
The forum brought together academicians, ambassadors and government ministers.
’’Some of the challenges Tanzania and Africa are facing, are truly difficult. But they must be solved, we can successfully work out these challenges if we work as a team for the benefit of our continent, which has no equal position in the current world system,’’ said Kikwete .
President Kikwete said he believed that co-operation and collective responsibilities was the right direction for the African continent.
’’Our countries are too small and weak to enter directly in the competitive world of the giants,’’ he said.
The President said even the Father of Tanzanian Nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who strongly supported the African Union, held the view that the continent would not make useful strides if individual countries stood.
He said Mwalimu believed that many African countries were too small and weak, with no future or focus.
The President told participants that former Ghanaian president, the late Kwame Nkuruma, who laboured for the African unity in the 1960s, was pessimistic on how a divided Africa could influence the world.
’’I fully support their schools of thought and believe that regional co-operation is the right strategy for development and self reliance,’’ said the President.
In his paper, President Kikwete mentioned some of the challenges that Tanzania and Africa are facing as, including globalisation and regional integration.
He suggested that for the continent to work out those challenges, emphasis must be put on educational development and the use of Information Technology and Communication.
He also suggested for the establishing of powerful regional institutions which would assist Africa in eliminating the dependency syndrome and be able to overcome the effects of globalisation.
The President called on African countries to cooperate and reduce competition among themselves.
He said Tanzania was ready to face the challenges because there was good governance system in place.
Closing the discussion,South African Minister of State (President’s Office) Dr Essop Pahad, said if there was one thing his party, the African National Congress could learn from CCM, it was the way the ruling party was consistently closer to its members.
|
