By Mark Ogagan
Former South Africa President, Thabo Mbeki has criticised the African Union (AU) for being silent even as the continent is experiencing a myriad of challenges.
He says there are conflicts on the continent, but the AU is absent. He says the candidates for the AU Commission chairperson must have a clear vision on how they are going to strengthen the continental body.
This comes as war rages in Sudan and instability grips the Democratic Republic Congo.
Mbeki was part of the panel discussion at the African Security and Peace Dialogue in Rustenburg.
“There is something radically wrong with the AU. Look at the conflict in Sudan. Where is there AU with regard to the resolution of that conflict, nowhere to be seen and put the AU in sound footing.”
Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo says the conflict in the DRC can be resolved.
Speaking on the sidelines of the African Peace and Security Dialogue in Magaliesburg, Gauteng, Kombo says all stakeholders in the Great Lakes region must be involved. The conflict in the eastern part of the DRC has seen many civilians killed and thousands displaced.
Kombo says Tanzania is also involved in trying to resolve the impasse.
“Solution can be found by involving the key stakeholders on the ground. The key players are Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the DRC itself. That is why in Organ troika there is a special committee that is trying to find solution. Tanzania holds a special position and also based on our neutrality and is part of our foreign policy also,” says Kombo.
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