Khaddafi Criticizes Other African Leaders

Libyan leader Mouammar Khaddafi said Sunday that attempts to form the United States of Africa were sluggish but there were reasons to be optimistic that African leaders, meeting in Addis Ababa, could make progress.

”In the near future, we will have some tangible results, perhaps with the formation of the African Union Authority,” Kadhafi told journalists.

African leaders attending the AU summit are expected to come up with a roadmap towards the formation of a United States of Africa. The first step towards this was slated to begin with the formation of the AU Authority.

Khadafi said although 10 years has been wasted since the formation of the African Union, there were reasons to hope that continental unity would progress.  He laughed off suggestions from a journalist, who asked if he would consider quitting the AU or cutting his country’s funding for the organization.

”I am disappointed. The Africans are disappointed, there is nothing tangible that has been achieved after 10 years since the formation of the African Union,” he said.  However, he insisted that his intentions were not to become the President of the United States of Africa, lamenting that African leaders lacked the vision of revolutionary leaders such as Otto Von Bismarck of Germany or Abraham Lincoln of US.  Khadafi noted that Africa still faced difficulties of achieving full unity because of poor economic relations between the various countries.

”We want to unify the continent. But with 53 states, where people speak different languages, this is not easy. We cannot achieve this dream overnight but we cannot pull back our efforts,” he said.

According to him, the current set up of the AU Commission, which serves as the main secretariat for the continental organization, is weak.  Khadafi noted that the AU Commission Chairperson lacked powers to overrule the other institutions formed by the African Union.  These include the ambassadors’ body, the Permanent Representatives Committee and the Foreign Ministers, known as the Executive Council.

”The chairperson of the commission does not have the mandate to overrule these organs. We want to have harmony,” he said.  He described the achievements of the AU as “modest,” noting that “there have been no notable achievements. I myself and Africa do not see tangible results. ”

Earlier, the Libyan leader rapped African leaders for slowing down continental progress, saying most of them failed to rule in respect of their constitutions.

”We have had failures after the introduction of the multiparty politics. We have had political rebellions and the refusal of the political order in place by t h e African leaders in power, who do not respect their constitutions,” Khadafi said.

”The leaders work for themselves, that is why we have this political rebellion in the Horn of Africa, there is revolt, either from the opposition political pa r ties, or the civilians,” he noted.