Ethiopia: Gaddafi is new AU chairman

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been elected as the new chairman of the 53-nation African Union. He was elected by delegates at the AU summit in Ethiopia on Monday. He was widely tipped to get the node but some members of the union were said to have expressed their misgivings about his nomination.

The 12th Au heads of states summit kicked off in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia prioritizing the issue of forming the Union Government of Africa.

Leaders of more than 40 African countries including the new Somali’s Transitional Government President, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed convene for three days on major African issues with a theme, “infrastructure development in Africa”.

Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the moderate Islamist leader won the presidency in an all-night parliament session in neighboring Djibouti at the end of January, 2009 and vowed to end conflict in the Horn of Africa nation, make peace with neighbors and rule with honesty and justice.

During the first day of meeting the leaders were expected to deal conclusively with the discussion regarding the formation of the Union Government of Africa. It was expected to give birth to a Federal government for Africa after more than half-a century of debate.

“This is an ordinary summit and a certain number of critical issues would be dealt with and concluded at this summit,” told media African Union Commission President Jean Ping. “The want to deal with the issue the Union Government during this summit,” he said.

African leaders have been discussing the formation of a Union Government of Africa for the past half a century. The founders of the Pan African debate set the ambitious goals of uniting the continent and sharing its wealth in a way that is beneficial to the continents citizenry.

So far, at least 20 African states have endorsed the creation of the Union Government of Africa. There are some eight African states which support the idea in principle but prefer a gradual movement.

Libya, the main state behind the Union Government, says any ‘gradualist’ idea towards the unity of Africa was too slow.

But, the states most Southern African region, which want the gradual formation of the Union Government, say neither the proposers nor the opposers of the idea would get what they want.

African diplomats have disclosed that a breakthrough has been reached on the emotive issue of setting up this Union Government of Africa, but major problems still remain on how to make it operational.

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