Symposium on African integration calls for full civil society engagement
A high-level two-day symposium on the role of civil society in deepening regional integration kicked off at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa, Tuesday, with a strong call to civil society organizations to work in seamless partnership and advance a fully united and integrated Africa.
“The role of civil society in the African integration process must not be underestimated and has to be enforced in order to achieve the realization of a united Africa,” said Josué Dione, speaking on behalf of ECA’s Executive Secretary, Abdoulie Janneh.
According to ECA’s Information and Communication Service (ICS), the two-day symposium aims to give new drive and a fresh momentum to Africa’s regional integration process, “which has not only been moving forward far too slow in the past decades but has also been widely restricted to the Intergovernmental system.”
In a remark, Mr. Eratus Mwencha, Deputy Chair of the African Union Commission said the main reason for the current impasse is “the lack of political will.”
He highlighted some key challenges to the integration process that range from current slow or inexistent implementation of decisions, to accountability, the lack financing and the lack of a common front. These, he said, “are what Africa needs in order to build a continent that can be proud of itself.”
Adding her voice to the calls, Beatrice Birungi Kiraso, Deputy Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC) warned: “As Africans we either integrate or perish.”
“My dream is that one day we can all travel with one passport which is called the African passport”, underlined Joseph Atta-Mensah, Director of ECA’s Regional Integration, Infrastructure and Trade Division. “We need to abolish visas and allow Africans to travel freely to other African countries.”
The sessions on Tuesday reflected on the state of play of Africa’s integration agenda and addressed the policies and strategies for accelerating the process. Participants also discussed possible measures towards a common African citizenship. Concrete proposals to drive forward the African integration process are expected at the close of the Symposium on Wednesday.
The more than 60 participants in attendance include representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the private sector, women groups, youth, academia, the Diaspora, the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, the World Bank as well as other relevant stakeholders.
This article was originally posted on Sustainable Development Africa Platform
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