By Our Correspondent,
ADDIS ABABA Ethiopia
On Tuesday 25 May, African governments would commemorate what is known as "Africa Day".
The
day (formerly known as African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day) is the
annual commemoration of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
on 5 May 1963.
The
organisation was later transformed into the African Union on 9 July 2002 in
Durban, South Africa, but the holiday continues to be celebrated on 25 May. It
is celebrated in various countries on the African continent as well as around
the world.
This
year's theme of Africa Day is Arts, Culture And Heritage: Levers for
Building the Africa We Want.
The
celebration however comes on a backheel of a number of issues; the Covid-19
pandemic having piled up pressure on the African economy.
Only
last week, Democratic Republic of Congo’s president Felix Tshisekedi who is also
the current head of the African Union alongside a dozen other African heads of
state, concluded a summit in Paris where they argued among other issues for an
increase in the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) from 33 billion dollars to 100
billion dollars.
The
SDR, used sparingly, gives member countries the possibility of
"drawing" liquidity to supplement their financial reserves. But this
alternative is subject to the notion of quotas, which take into account the
economic strength of each part of the globe.
Chad's
military government after the sudden death of president Idris Deby has raised
concerns while Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict which has led to thousands of
civilian deaths and displacements and allegations of war crimes and ethnic
cleansing hovering over the conflict is yet another.
Ethiopia,
the second most populous country on the continent also has a dispute with Sudan
and Egypt concerning its dam on the Nile River’s main tributary.
Mali's
joint civiilian military transition government after last year's coup that
ousted Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, and the worsening insecurity in the sahel region
where countries have struggled to combat multiple armed groups.
There
is also Mozambique's islamist isurgency in the North cabo Delgado province
which has led to a refugee crisis while if there are some positives, the
situation in Libya with the continued observation and respect of a ceasefire
agreed to in March would be one.
The
smooth transfer of power in March to a new interim Government of National Unity
(GNU) and recent plans for elections to hold in December renews hope for peace
in the conflict-affected country, and stability across the wider region.
On
the Covid-19 pandemic, African government leaders would want to increase
vaccination efforts on the continent after what has appeared strongly to be
vaccine apathy across several African countries.
But
defying the odds by managing to control the pandemic that has ravaged other
parts of the world is in itself something many analysts praise the continent
for, a continent least impacted globally by the pandemic. And that may be worth
celebrating at the very least.
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