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Interview: New OAU Chief Says Transformation is Biggest Challenge
Amara Essy, newly-elected Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), said Tuesday in Lusaka that the most important thing for him to do in his tenure is to build the foundation for the African Union.
"The biggest challenge in the transitional period is to put into place many organs of the African Union", including an assembly, an executive council, a pan-African parliament and a central bank, Essy said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua in the Mulungushi Conference Center, the site of the 37th and last OAU summit.
The new OAU chief said African leaders have great ambition for the African Union and there are many organizations in Africa, such as the Economic Community of Western African States and the Southern African Development Community.
"What we do now is to establish the best organization for the continent and that will take time," he said.
He took the example of establishing the central bank under the African Union, saying it needs money and integration of the currencies in all African countries.
"Lack of funds is a main question of the African Union," Essy lamented. The OAU has been reportedly plagued by lack of resources. A recent report produced by outgoing OAU Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim indicated that only four countries have paid their dues on time.
However, the African Union is a stronger unity and "everybody knows that alone you cannot do anything, but together you can do many things," Essy said.
"What we do now is not for one country but for all of Africa," he stressed.
Asked whether he has any plan after the one-year tenure as OAU secretary general, Essy said "we go step by step. Let me fulfill what I have to do in this period."
"They have not said one year," Essy said, adding that how long the transitional period is depends on the preparing work done for the African Union.
At the end of the interview, the OAU chief said "I'm a long friend of China."
He happily recalled his five visits to China, mentioning Chinese former foreign minister Qian Qichen and some former Chinese ambassadors to Cote d'Ivoire as his old friends.
Essy, a 57-year-old career diplomat, served as foreign minister of Cote d'Ivoire for 10 years until last year, and had in 1990 presided over the United Nations Security Council. He was elected secretary general of the OAU early Tuesday morning.
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