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Closing remarks of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to the 4th Africa-European Union Summit

Brussels, 4 April 2014

 
Excellency, Chairperson of the European Council and

Excellency, Chairperson of the African Union

Excellency, Chairperson of the European Union Commission

Excellencies, Heads of State and Government

Excellency, Secretary General of the United Nations,

Excellencies, EU and AU Commissioners

Leaders of Delegations and Ministers

Ladies and Gentlemen

African and European leaders have spoken. We have demonstrated that there is much that we can and must do together to confront common challenges and take advantage of opportunities and to secure peace and security and achieve rapid, resilient and inclusive as well as sustainable social and economic development for our people.

We have come together not simply as neighbors or because of our shared history. We have come together because we face common challenges and a shared future as peoples of one planet earth that invites all global citizens to pay attention to sustainability considerations.

We are all agreed that our people must be at the centre of our joint endeavor and especially women and youth.
There is a great deal of convergence of how to confront challenges to peace and security and sustainable development as well as the need for strong institutional mechanism, to address root causes and a rapid response mechanism. We in Africa greatly appreciate the support from Europe through the Peace Support Fund. Africa remains determined to silence all guns by 2020.

We have committed ourselves on the need for transformation of African economy through investment in industry, agriculture and infrastructure and through access to finance, markets and transfer of technology.

In order to take advantage of the demographic dividends Africa, seeks support to impart skills to the youthful population and access to means of production and markets. In addressing the phenomenon of human migration we must face up to the push and pull factors.

To boost intra-Africa trade, create regional value chains, and encourage private investments we are committed to developing a Continental a Free a Trade Area by building on achievements of the Regional Economic Communities.

Lest we are misunderstood. Africa is very much alive to the reality that the new trade regime under the WTO calls for reciprocity, which takes into account developmental needs of Africa. We therefore call on you as partners to ensure that EPAs do not frustrate Africa's integration and development agenda.

Partnerships are always stronger when founded on mutual trust goodwill and respect. We trust that our long-standing partnership will remain guided by these values.

In conclusion, a special thanks to the European Union for the vibrant side events, with civil society and especially the engagements with young people from the two continents and the private sector.

Our appreciation to the EU and the Kingdom of Belgium for hosting this Summit and for all who attended this 4th EU-Africa Summit.

I thank you.

STATEMENT BY H.E. DR. NKOSAZANA DLAMINI ZUMA
CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION

AT THE FIFTH EU- AFRICA PRIVATE BUSINESS FORUM
Brussels, Belgium

31st March 2014

 
Excellency Mr. José Manuel Barroso
Members of the Private Sector,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to have the opportunity to participate and speak at the 5th EU- Africa Business Forum. I would like to thank Mr. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Union Commission and Vice President Antonio Tajani in particular, for hosting this event.
It is pleasing to see representatives of African business here who demonstrate your unwavering interest in participating and championing Africa’s development agenda. And we of course welcome the interest by European businesses, since Africa is an important destination and partner for trade and investments.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Despite the impact of the ongoing global economic situation, the size of the African economy has more than tripled since 2000. The outlook also appears positive, with the region as a whole expected to grow by 4% for 2013 and 4.6% for 2014. A number of African economies are predicted to remain amongst the fastest growing in the world for the foreseeable future.
Africa is also diversifying the investments it attracts.
Whilst investment in FDI projects from developed markets fell by 20% (except from the UK, which grew by 9% year-on-year), in contrast investments from emerging markets into Africa grew in 2013, continuing the trend over the past three years. The top contributors from the emerging markets are India, South Africa, the UAE, China, Kenya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and South Korea all among the top 20 investors over that period.
Africans are increasingly investing in their own continent, given the rate of returns, with intra-African investment growing at 33% compound rate, during the same period. South Africa has been at the forefront of growth in intra-African trade and broader emerging market investment. Kenya and Nigeria have also invested heavily, and it is expected that others such as Angola, for example, with a US$5b sovereign wealth fund, will become increasingly prominent investors across the continent over the next few years.
There has also been an important shift in emphasis in investment into the continent over the past few years, in terms of both destination markets and sectors. While investment into North Africa has largely stagnated, FDI projects into other regions of Africa have grown at a compound rate of 22% since 2007. Among the star performers attracting growing numbers of projects have been Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Mauritius and South Africa.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Infrastructure gaps, particularly relating to logistics and electricity, are consistently cited as the biggest challenges by those doing business in Africa. At a macro level, too, Africa’s growth will be inherently constrained until the infrastructure deficit is bridged. The flip side of this challenge, however, is that strong growth has been occurring despite such infrastructure constraints.
This indicates the potential to not only sustain, but massively accelerate growth as the infrastructure gap is narrowed. Infrastructure development, in-country as well as regional projects that will aid integration and connect economies of regions and of the continent, is therefore an important African priority.
In 2012 there were over 800 active infrastructure projects across different sectors in Africa, with a combined value in excess of US$700b. The large majority of infrastructure projects are related to power (37%) and transport (41%).
The gap in energy is a challenge, but also an opportunity, especially in renewable energy, wind, hydro and solar energy. In a similar vein, the Green economy can allow Africa to leapfrog development and address some of the constraints in infrastructure, especially energy.
Over the recent past, the AU has been increasing its engagement with the private sector. We strongly believe that the Private Sector is a driver of innovation, investment, and job creation, and a critical partner for the realization of our long term vision of Agenda 2063 and in the medium to shorter, the post-2015 development agenda.
Agenda 2063 is a long-term vision for an Africa that is integrated, prosperous, peaceful and people-centred. Key to the realization of Agenda 2063 is investments in African people - their education and health, access to basic services, especially young people and women.
In addition, although the continent has recorded an average of over 5% growth over the last decade, in order to eradicate poverty and create decent jobs, Africa needs at sustained levels of growth at least 7% in order to double incomes and eradicate poverty in one generation. It therefore has no choice but to transform the structures of its economies, through industrialisation and diversification of its economies. The private sector in the continent has an important role to play in this, and so do foreign companies investing into the continent.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we gather here to discuss ways of fostering the diversification and industrialization of African economies, and to raise the profile of doing business in Africa, allow me to mention but a few areas which are promising in terms of economic diversification and investment returns, and which can also contribute to addressing challenges of inequality and unemployment on the African Continent.
First, Agriculture; The African continent is currently home to 60% of the world’s total uncultivated, arable land and 70% of the continent’s workforce is in agriculture. As the world’s population increases rapidly (recently exceeding the 7 billion mark and 9 billion in 2050), global agricultural production must rise to feed these growing numbers.
This creates business opportunity for the manufacturing of products such as fertilizers, pesticides and seeds as well as a demand for food processing and ago-processing such as grain refining, value addition and packaging. Value opportunities also exist in textile industry and as China moves up the value chain, Africa is poised to seize the opportunity to become the next hub of textile production.
The growth in agro-industry has been buttressed by improving investments, productivity and the business environment through implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). Already, a growing number of private equity funds are springing up to finance agricultural production in Africa.
Africa therefore has the potential to feed itself, and also certainly to become a player in the global markets for food.
The EU-Africa partnership calendar for 2014 was quite illuminating in this regard. Each month presents an imagery of the two continents, under the theme Two Unions, One Vision. For one of the months, the image for Africa is tomatoes and for Europe, ketchup (tomato sauce), by implications a vision that perpetuates Africa as producer of raw materials and Europe as producer of value-added goods. This state of affairs cannot and should not continue; Africa must and will beneficiate its raw materials and resources.
Second, Tourism; Several African countries have become world’s favorite tourism destinations and as a continent we aim to become the favorite destination for global tourism. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, tourist arrivals into Africa in the year 2012 exceeded 49 million and are likely to pass the 50 million mark in 2014. Those are the kind of numbers you should be taking advantage of, as African and European business, to develop tourism infrastructure on the continent, since the demand is only likely to growth.
Third, ICT: This is one of the fastest growing and most promising sector. There are well over 1 billion mobile phones in Africa and the use of computers is rapidly expanding. A whole range of business opportunities exist from e-commerce, international call centers, mobile services to assembly/and manufacturing.
A number of countries across the continent are also developing hubs of innovation, with thousands of young African entrepreneurs and software developers that understand the African markets, hence the number of innovations from the continent.
Again with reference to the EU-Africa partnership calendar, there is a picture of an African using a laptop, indicating that yes, we are participating in the ICT revolution. However, the picture for Europe is at a different level, it is a satellite in space. But even on this score, we are making progress, with space programmes in Nigeria and South Africa. Africa and Australia will cohost the Square Kilometer Array, 80% in Africa, and it will help to train and develop scientists from across the continent and the development of continental science, technology, innovation and research.
Fourth, Infrastructure: Investing in infrastructure is critical to Africa’s growth. While there have been significant improvements in the development and quality of infrastructure across the continent, there is still a clear-cut deficit. There are opportunities for private investors to partner with African public and private sectors in the development and maintenance of infrastructure: such as investing in reliable power supply, water resources, roads, ports and railway systems among others.
Fifth, Fast Moving Consumer Goods: With Africa’s exploding middle class (over 300 million people) always looking to be serviced with new products, Africa’s fast moving consumer goods sector looks promising. There is a huge and ever-growing opportunity for manufacturers and retailers of FMCGs like food, beverages, home care and personal care products. Many of the raw materials for these products are from Africa, and we want to ensure that many of these products are produced in African countries, adding value to our natural resources and creating jobs in Africa.
Sixth, Mining; Several African countries have vast deposits of mineral resources that have been left largely unexploited because of a lack of technical know-how, as well as the financial incapacity to embark on capital-intensive mining projects. The continent also has a wide array of mineral resources which include iron ore, coal, bauxite, gold, tin, lead, oil and zinc which haven’t been exploited.
This creates an investment opportunity for Africans and Europeans alike, to invest not only in mining, but also in value addition and wealth creation opportunities in both artisanal as well as industrial mining and value addition.
The Green and Blue economies are a seventh growth area: Africa has huge oceanic spaces, three times our land mass, and the continent must and will invest in developing its Blue economy, fishing, shipping, ports and logistics and the general marine economy, at the moment exploited by others. We must stop illegal fishing in African waters, which then feed other continents and what is left over is sold back to Africa.
This is but a tip of an iceberg. At the AUC, we value greater engagement with the private sector in all areas of human development. Africa’s potential is enormous; it's a continent on the rise. Having mentioned but a few sectors that are ripe for investment, I am confident that more success stories and opportunities will be shared during this very important business forum.
As Africa emerges from underdevelopment and marginalization, we are redefining our relationships with the world. The economic opportunities in the continent too must be located in the process of this redefinition.
As we develop our infrastructure and create better business environment, we also expect from foreign investors to work with us as partners on the path we set for ourselves. It is therefore necessary not only to see Africa as a source of raw materials and markets for your products, with our raw materials shipped out, jobs created elsewhere and then products exported back to Africa. The insistence of African countries for better terms of trade and economic partnerships, for joint ventures with local businesses, for manufacturing plants for the products we consume to be located in our countries, for local content and ownership in critical sectors are therefore part of ensuring that we create shared prosperity for Africans, lasting peace and security and that Africa becomes part of the global value chains.
A central component of this is the development of the African Free Trade area, so as to drastically increase intra-Africa trade. This is why we are insisting that trade agreements, and in this instance the Economic Partnership Agreements, must meet the requirement that they contribute and do not undermine African industrialization, diversification and integration.
With regards to agriculture, we do not encourage further land grabs, where agriculture becomes like the extractive industry, with our agricultural products exported without processing and we are therefore forced to import food at high prices, thus undermining our collective food security.
The demographic trend as it affects our two continents, is another important factors in the future of our partnership. Europe has an ageing population, whereas the African population is young and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Our partnership should therefore see Europe also investing in the training of young Africans, not only in robotics to replace human labour. It will thus spend less on policing the Mediterranean Sea to prevent young Africans from crossing. Instead they will arrive at your airports as skilled labour, tourists and investors in the European economy.
During the UN Millennium debates in 2000, Africa was called the ‘21st Century development challenge’. Fourteen years Africa is a 21st Century development opportunity.
I thank you

INTERVENTION BY

H.E. DR. NKOSOZANA DLAMINI ZUMA
CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION

AT THE

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE PREVENTION OF GENOCIDES

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
1 APRIL 2014

Excellency Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium,

Excellency Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General,

Excellency Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,

Distinguished participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This discussion on the Prevention of Genocide is very important, because we have to keep reminding ourselves to always be vigilant and learn from the past, in order to prevent its recurrence. To paraphrase Kundera, it is a struggle of memory against forgetting.

Whenever we speak about genocide, the focus tends to be on the events as they unfold and the aftermath, with less attention to the root causes of genocide.

Whilst we should seek to understand what makes individuals and groups of individuals undertake acts of hatred and such extreme violence against their fellow humans, we must also understand the political and social processes that breed, condone and justify such hatred and violence.

We must understand what happens when a political and social system see whole groups of people - whether because of ethnicity, race or religion or some other characteristic - as the ‘Other’ and therefore not quite human, justifying exclusion, slavery, persecution, invasion, oppression, hatred, dispossession, divide and rule, wars and in its extreme forms, genocide and mass atrocities

Genocides have occurred and continue to occur throughout history and in every corner of the globe, in societies ancient and modern, for reasons as diverse as the acquisition of land and resources, political tyranny and racial, ethnic and religious discrimination, to mention but a few.

As the concept emerged during twentieth-century history, instances quoted include the Holocaust, and the genocides and mass atrocities in Armenia, Cambodian, Bosnia and Rwanda.

In the context of the UN definition, it should also include genocides and mass atrocities under colonialism: mass atrocities against and the near-extermination of the indigenous peoples in South America, the US, Canada, and Australia; and the mass atrocity of the transatlantic slave trade as well as the systematic discrimination against the Roma people in Europe over the centuries. It should include instances of mass atrocities and genocide in Africa during colonialism: against the Khoi and San people in Southern Africa, in the Belgium Congo, in German South West Africa, and so forth.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Unless we deal with these lessons from history, understanding the root causes that led to these events, and their aftermath, it will be difficult to prevent genocide occurring today.

The struggle against genocides and mass atrocities is therefore about addressing root causes of conflicts, about fighting all forms of oppression, abuse, marginalization and discrimination, and by managing the diversity of our peoples, cultures and religions.

It was the Rwanda Genocide of 1994, which prompted the adoption of the principle of non-indifference in the AU Constitutive Act of 2002. The African Union thus committed not to stand idle when African people are facing genocide, mass atrocities or internal strife.

On the occasion of the 20th commemoration of the Rwanda genocide, we are reminded that the root causes of the Rwanda genocide included the divide and rule tactics under colonialism, the failure to manage diversity in the post-colonial period, and at the time of the events in the words of the OAU High Level Panel the fact that “the Rwandan genocide could have been prevented by those in the international community who had the position and means to do so. But though they had the means, they lacked the will. The world failed Rwanda”.

These events therefore also guide the African approach towards conflict prevention, mediation and post-conflict reconstruction, as well as our emphasis on reconciliation, transitional justice, and healing.

It means redoubling our efforts to protect the human rights of all strata and groups in our societies, through instruments such as the African Charter on Peoples and Human rights and the African Peer Review Mechanism.
It means paying special attention to managing diversity and ensure inclusion, equality, human security and justice for all.

The African Union has embarked on the difficult task of establishing the African Human Rights Memorial Project (AUHRM), which aims at preserving the memory of mass atrocities, in recognition of past suffering and in the interests of future peace and security. It will commemorate, reflect and remember the series of grave crimes committed against Africans as a result of genocide, slavery, apartheid and colonialism, and to ensure Never Again.

I will conclude by making reference to the solemn declaration of our heads of state and government to silence the guns by 2020, so that Africa could achieve its vision of an integrated, peaceful, people centred and prosperous continent.

I thank you for your attention.

Opening Statement by H.E. Dr. Aisha L. Abdullahi Commissioner for Political Affairs African Union Commission at the Africa-EU Parliamentary Summit, Brussels, Belgium, 31 March to 1 April 2014