Johannesburg - The conflict-torn African continent would see peace and stability as countries worked on implementing the African Union’s 50-year plan called Agenda 2063, the African Union summit, taking place in Johannesburg, heard on Thursday.
The African Union (AU) commissioner on economic affairs, Anthony Mothae Maruping, said stability needed to be achieved before the plan could be fully realised.
“We want to move from extinguishing the fires to preventing fires. Agenda 2063 will achieve a peaceful Africa,” he told journalists at the AU summit.
The continent was plagued by civil strife and terror attacks by militant groups such as Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab. Maruping said a standby force would be in place to prevent conflicts. In recent weeks, fighting in South Sudan had also claimed numerous lives and forced thousands to flee their homes.
Maruping said he believed in the success of the 2063 plan, despite the continuing conflicts.
“South Sudan is happening now as we implement this strategic framework. I am optimistic that this is a different ball game as it is inclusive and is different from all the other frameworks agreements,” he said.
“This is a gradual process, and I can tell you that there will be no need for the standby force once Agenda 2063, which is a plan by Africans themselves is achieved,” he said. “We hope to adopt the first 10-year implementation plan at this summit, but already many countries are gearing up in domesticating it in their own countries.”
The plan for Agenda 2063 originated at the 50th anniversary of the founding of the organisation which was then known as the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) in May 1963. According to the AU, the plan, Maruping explained, was a “continuation of the Pan-African drive for self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity.”
The plan, said Maruping, further sought to achieve growth and development in the continent.
ANA