President
John Dramani Mahama says Africa is politically stable and must,
therefore, not be painted as a continent of doom and gloom.
He described as unfair the description of Africa as a continent of corrupt, repressive and, sometimes, violent dictators.
President
Mahama was giving the keynote address on the “Common African Position
on the Post-2015 Development Agenda: the Intersection of Sustainability
and Human Interest” at the 15th International Economic Forum on Africa
in Berlin, Germany last Wednesday.
He said despite the consistent
spread of democracy as the result of free and fair elections, and the
institution of the rule of law in many nations, the perception of Africa
as a continent of dictators, corruption and oppression persisted.
“While
it is true that there is conflict and political instability in several
countries, especially in North Africa as the result of the uprisings and
ensuing civil turmoil, the continent is, by and large, politically
stable.
“Still, many of the democracies are relatively new and,
as such, vulnerable to the threats posed by terrorism and other forms of
rebellion or unrest,“ he said.
Common African Position
President
Mahama said the Common African Position (CAP) on the Post-2015
Development Agenda was for the African Union (AU) to “speak with one
voice and to act in unity to ensure that Africa’s voice is heard and is
fully integrated into the global development agenda”.
The CAP is
made up of six pillars. These are structural economic transformation and
inclusive growth; science, technology and innovation; people-centred
development: environmental sustainability, natural resources management
and disaster risk management, peace and security and finance
partnership.
“Although each of these pillars contains its own set
of sub-goals that are specific to that particular area of focus,
non-performance or an intrusion to the rate of performance in any one of
those pillars can greatly impact the efficacy of the work being done in
other areas.
“This is especially true when countries already in
tenuous positions, as many African nations are, find themselves faced
with unforeseen disasters,” the President said.
Refugee situation
On
the refugee situation, President Mahama said since the beginning of
this year, over 3,000 refugees, a large number of them Africans, had
died trying to make the journey across the Mediterranean.
“In
2014, 280,000 refugees arrived at the borders of the European Union. By
the end of this past August, the number of refugees for 2015 had already
reached 350,000. Of that number, 7000 have recently been granted refuge
here in Germany,” the President said.
He applauded Germany for
the great role it had played in response to what was being described as
the most significant refugee crisis since the Second World War, in spite
of the high political and social costs.
Present at the event
included the Prime Minister of Madagascar, Jean Ravelonarivo; Prof.
Horst Köhler, a former President of the Federal Republic of Germany, and
Dr Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and
Development.
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