Stability Needed in DR Congo Urgently--Akufo-Add

The African Union (AU) has been urged to find an immediate and lasting solution to the deepening political crisis that has claimed many lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

Ghana's President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said addressinhg the twin issues of the unity and stability of the Congolese state, and the establishment of democracy that would allow the Congolese people the opportunity to elect their leaders in a free and fair elections was the test of effectiveness of the AU.

President Akufo-Addo urged Member States of the AU to demonstrate a commitment to strengthening and protecting institutions and the culture of democratic governance --respect of human rights, religious freedom, the empowerment of women, and the rights of the individual and minorities.

More importantly, he said, was the need to build strong market economies and the facilitation of the free movements of people, knowledge and goods and services across member states.

He was delivering the keynote address at an event on transformative governance in Africa, organised by the Kukah Centre, in Abuja, Nigeria.

President Akufo-Addo said the time had come for Africa to move further to deepen democratic governance among member states to ensure a genuine separation of powers between the various arms of government.

He stressed the need for African Parliaments, the legislative arms of government, to grow into effective machineries for accountability and oversight of the Executives while the Judiciary, should inspire confidence in the citizens by serving as courts of ultimate and impartial arbiters when disputes arise.

President Akufo-Addo said Africa's public institutions should also work effectively in order to be able to confront and deal effectively with the canker of corruption which had been the bane of the cointinent's development.

He applauded the systematic measures being taken by Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, to deal with corruption, adding they deserved the support of all well-meaning Nigerians and Africans.

He noted that even though it was too early to conclude, Ghana's institutions were growing and the self-confidence of Ghanaian people had become manifest. "I dare say that we are even beginning to accept that a political party can lose an election with grace and serve with honour in opposition," he said.

President Akufo-Addo was confident that if Africa stopped being beggars, governed itself intelligently and honestly in freedom, and spent Africa's monies inside the continent, Africa would not need to ask for respect from anyone, but would receive the respect it deserved.

"Stable democracies in Africa can help unleash energies to drive the transformation of the continent. There is a lot of talk that this will be the Asian century, the Chinese century - but take it from me: the 21st century holds excellent prospects for Africa. This can be Africa's century. We can claim it, if we believe in ourselves,"he added.

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