African Heads of state address summit

Accra (Greater Accra) 21 May ?99

The vice-president of Burundi, Mr Mathias Sinamenye, has stressed the need for Africa to open up and take the lead in global affairs.

This, he said, requires democracy and good governance, essential prerequisites for peace without which Africa's recent socio-economic success would be in vain.

Addressing the Presidential plenary of the one-week fifth African-African Summit currently under way in Accra, Mr Sinamenye, urged delegates to highlight issues on women and the youth whom, he said, must be groomed to maintain and build on what they inherit from present leaders.

The plenary session, which opened yesterday and chaired, by President Jerry John Rawlings registered a record number of 12 African leaders in the eight-year history of the summit.

The dignitaries included Rev Jesse Jackson, American President Clinton's Special envoy for Africa and Rev Leon Sullivan, the convener.

Mr Sinamenye said the war in his country, which has done a lot of harm to the country's economy and culture, is being resolved through negotiations.

President Lansana Conte of Guinea touched on the many opportunities the current summit and another held in the US last March for some African leaders have brought to Africa.

He mentioned the US Africa Growth and Opportunities Act and the gradual growth of American investment in Africa.

He said the unity fostered between Africans and African Americans by the summit is strengthening the solidarity among African states, the most serious of which was the Ghana-Guinea Union established in the early days of independence.

He decried the situation where Western countries grant huge aid packages to countries in the North while those in the South are subjected to harsh pre-conditions before the 'little' development packages are granted.

President Conte said apart from the Marshal Plan designed by America to rebuild Europe, a Bank has recently been established in London to help the economies of Eastern European countries.

African Americans, he said, should also take a cue from that and establish an African American bank in Washington to finance development programmes drawn by African states.

"This is the only reliable way for African countries to achieve their development objectives...so that Africa can reclaim her greatness and dignity.

"Guinea is ready to do the utmost in efforts at reconstructing Africa through co-operation with African Americans", he said to resounding applause.

Sierra Leonean President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah noted that the donor concept is being replaced by economic co-operation and business partnerships saying it "augurs well for understanding among African countries, which see themselves as having a common interest".

He suggested to African Americans to extend their expertise, in the form of technology transfer, to Africa. The 'twin city' concept should also be extended to state level where African states would also have sister states in the United States.

President Kabbah said the situation in his country is not a civil war but the "lawless acts of rebels whose actions have killed, maimed and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.

He said the suggestion by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) for a four-year transitional government is untenable since Sierra Leoneans regard their constitution as the best guarantee of their freedoms and rights.

"If the RUF wants constitutional changes it must transform itself into a political party and sell its ideals to the people. The people would not allow the constitution to be arbitrarily set aside without their consent".

President Kabbah said Sierra Leoneans have lost confidence in the RUF because of its habit of manipulating ceasefire declarations to their advantage and asked countries calling for peace to persuade the RUF to stop the war and negotiate with sincerity.

He said his government is committed to a peaceful solution to the problem and thanked Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea and Mali for their efforts at resolving the conflict.