The George Dubya of AfricaSunday Times (Johannesburg)
July 13, 2003
By Ranjeni Munusamy
Johannesburg
Even as he relinquishes the reins of the African Union, Thabo Mbeki is regarded with suspicion by other African leaders. Those who watched events in Maputo know that the rupture between Libya and SA is widening.
On the opening day of the African Union summit in Maputo, Mozambique, this week, the continent's heads of state gathered on the stairs outside the conference centre for a group or "family" picture.
President Thabo Mbeki was the first to break away from the group. He stuck his pipe in his mouth and walked off across the courtyard towards the dining hall.
…With the fundamentals of the union established at its inaugural summit in Durban last year, the Maputo assembly had to deal with getting the right people in the right positions to shape it into a powerful, multilateral force.
…The question of a 50-50 representation of women on the commission became a major sticking point, with countries particularly in patriarchal North Africa arguing against gender tokenism. Eventually they gave in.
…First and most urgent is the setting up of the peace and security council, which would be responsible for conflict-management and peacekeeping deployments.
Mbeki was determined to get at least half of the member states to ratify the protocol for its establishment before his term of office as AU chairman expired. Only 12 of the 53 states arrived in Maputo armed with a ratification note.
Movement on the protocol for the establishment of the Pan African Parliament is also proceeding at a snail's pace. Mbeki also wanted the summit to agree on the draft protocol on the African Court of Justice.
…Mbeki commandeered the organisation with a firm hand when it was still malleable enough to be moulded according to anyone's needs and wishes - Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi the most willing and able.
While most other African leaders humour Gadaffi, Mbeki stared him down, making it clear that the AU was not about to be turned into a platform for the Brother Leader's theatrics. Most of Gadaffi's proposals for the AU, which would have steered it towards his grand plan for a United States of Africa, have been systematically squashed and thrown out.
The man Gadaffi had heavily invested in to lead his charge, former interim chairman of the AU commission Amara Essy, now finds himself jobless, bitter and wondering what he did that led Mbeki to call for his head.
…Gadaffi landed up supporting the man Essy had been up against, former president of Mali Alpha Konare.
Gadaffi says there is no tension between him and Mbeki and that they are completely in synch. But those who watched events play out in Maputo know that the rupture between Libya and South Africa is widening.
Gadaffi wants Africa to speak with one voice in international relations - his - and as a super-state that can defiantly contest the hegemony of the US.
Mbeki also wants Africa to operate as a homogenous entity, but he wants the 53-member states to unite around development, poverty eradication, economic growth and prosperity, democratic governance, stability and technological advancement - all of which is envisaged in his New Partnership for Africa's Development.
Gadaffi is not particularly interested in any of this. His proposals to the summit included changing the date of Africa Day from March 2 to September 9 (the day of the signing of the Sirte Declaration which led to the establishment of the AU); setting up five regional offices for the AU (one in Libya); and a provision to increase the term of office of the AU presidency beyond one year.
This is a forward-planning initiative on Gadaffi's part for a time when he might take over.
He also wants the seat of the Pan African Parliament to be in Libya, opening the way for a two-horse race with South Africa.
…Ironically, it is Mbeki, not Gadaffi, who is viewed by other African leaders as too powerful, and they privately accuse him of wanting to impose his will on others.
In the corridors, they call him the "George Bush of Africa", leading the most powerful nation in the neighbourhood and using his financial and military muscle to further his own agenda.
