Speaking at the 28th Ordinary Session of the African union (AU) President Danny Faure described the implementation of the Lusaka Master Roadmap as an enabler of the economic integration of Africa.
The Seychelles President made the remark this yesterday January 31st on the last day of the 28th AU Summit when commenting on the report of the President of the Peace and Security Council and that of the Commissioner for Peace and Security.
These two reports laid out the multiple challenges Africa face with regards to peace and security along with the various initiatives taken to surmount these. The Lusaka Master Roadmap for Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020 and the Africa Special Fund on Prevention and Combating Violent Extremism and Terrorism are two examples of these collective efforts.
In his intervention, President Faure noted that as a mechanism geared at making Africa conflict-free, the Lusaka Master Roadmap offers the Africa continent the opportunity to lock-in its economic integration. He underlined the critical importance of peace and security for development by describing it as the bedrock of the latter.
President Faure also made the link between the democratic and governance challenge and the prevalence of conflicts in Africa. He noted that often these conflicts find their source in the difficulty of democratic transition and the wrong perception of power, which is often associated with the latter.
“Far too often, power is seen as an end goal, from whence our challenges spring. Power is a means to an end. The end goal should always be the betterment of the lives of our people, the betterment of our country, and the betterment of our continent. We, the leaders of Africa, must lead by example and ensure that we follow the democratic principles and procedures as provided for in the respective Charters of our Organisation and our constitutions,” said the President.
He also noted the contribution of Seychelles to regional and global security by laying emphasis on maritime security given the country’s insular nature. “To this end, I am proud to announce that Seychelles will host the Regional Maritime Centre for Operational Coordination, which is the response mechanism for the East and southern Africa and the Indian Ocean Region under the Maritime Security Programme which targets all forms of maritime threats,” he told his African peers.