Forty-two years after Ghana last chaired the then Organisation of African Unity, now African Union, the assembly of the Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday unanimously voted President J.A. Kufuor as the new chairman.He takes over from President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of Congo in what observers describe as a continental kick-off to Ghana’s 50th anniversary celebration.
The rotational chairmanship is for a year. With his election, the President will spend the first of his last two years in office as Ghana’s President and also chairing the Union.
Ghana’s election was as a result of the widespread rejection of Sudan’s President, Omar al-Bashir, as chair because of the Darfur crisis.
It started in 2003 after a rebel group resorted to attacking government targets accusing it of oppressing black Africans and favouring Arabs.
So far, some 200,000 people have reportedly died and more than two million have fled their homes.
Mr. Bashir was originally billed to assume the AU chairmanship last year but that had to be postponed for the same reason.
The AU’s top diplomat, Alpha Oumar Konare, was yesterday quoted by the Reuters News Agency as saying: "By consensus, it is President Kufuor," adding that Sudan supported the decision.
The Ordinary Session of the Eighth Summit of the union also elected bureaus of the assembly, the Executive Council and the Drafting Committee.
The two-day Ordinary Session ends today. Its agenda was "Climate Change in Africa, and Science, Technology and Scientific Research for Development." It was also to discuss issues about the AU’s military mission to Darfur and the recent unrest in Guinea.President Kufuor will also present the first annual report on the implementation of Ghana’s Programme of action under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in the margins of the summit.
Before the election of the new chairman, the summit declared this year the International Year of African Football.
President Kufuor’s election yesterday, according to some observers, was an indication that his work at the sub-regional level was highly satisfactory having served as the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States for two terms, in 2003 and 2004.
Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, chaired the OAU from October 1965 to February 1966 with Lieutenant General Joseph Ankrah taking over from February 1966 to November 1966.
The rotational chairmanship is for a year. With his election, the President will spend the first of his last two years in office as Ghana’s President and also chairing the Union.
Ghana’s election was as a result of the widespread rejection of Sudan’s President, Omar al-Bashir, as chair because of the Darfur crisis.
It started in 2003 after a rebel group resorted to attacking government targets accusing it of oppressing black Africans and favouring Arabs.
So far, some 200,000 people have reportedly died and more than two million have fled their homes.
Mr. Bashir was originally billed to assume the AU chairmanship last year but that had to be postponed for the same reason.
The AU’s top diplomat, Alpha Oumar Konare, was yesterday quoted by the Reuters News Agency as saying: "By consensus, it is President Kufuor," adding that Sudan supported the decision.
The Ordinary Session of the Eighth Summit of the union also elected bureaus of the assembly, the Executive Council and the Drafting Committee.
The two-day Ordinary Session ends today. Its agenda was "Climate Change in Africa, and Science, Technology and Scientific Research for Development." It was also to discuss issues about the AU’s military mission to Darfur and the recent unrest in Guinea.President Kufuor will also present the first annual report on the implementation of Ghana’s Programme of action under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in the margins of the summit.
Before the election of the new chairman, the summit declared this year the International Year of African Football.
President Kufuor’s election yesterday, according to some observers, was an indication that his work at the sub-regional level was highly satisfactory having served as the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States for two terms, in 2003 and 2004.
Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, chaired the OAU from October 1965 to February 1966 with Lieutenant General Joseph Ankrah taking over from February 1966 to November 1966.
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