Chakwera for peace in Africa
By Taonga Sabola
President Lazarus Chakwera has said peace safety and security are a prerequisite for the attainment of socio-economic development on the African continent.
Chakwera was speaking yesterday when he addressed the 14th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government on Silencing the Guns.
The virtual session was organised to monitor progress on the agreement African leaders signed in 2013 to end armed conflicts on the continent by 2020.
Among other things, African heads of State noted that guns had not gone silent on the continent, with pockets of troubled spots in some countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and, most recently, Mozambique.
Chakwera told the meeting that economic activities flourish where there is peace and order. He said pockets of violence and armed conflict that persist in parts of the continent were a threat to the Africa’s collective prosperity.
“It is therefore imperative that we work together to heal these open sores, as well as prevent new ones from breaking out in places where there are clear signs of resentment, discontentment and radicalisation. It is incumbent upon us to earnestly implement the AU [African Union] Master Roadmap of Practical Steps for Silencing the Guns in Africa, which details these situations and suggests remedies for the same.
“To be sure, disagreements in any situation are inevitable, but Malawi’s experience historically and recently is those collaborative ways of settling disputes are more productive than combative ones. For this reason, Malawi champions values such as contact and dialogue in the Peace and Security Council of the AU. We also share the reasoning of the AU Master Roadmap of Practical Steps for Silencing the Guns in Africa, which identifies, amongst others, socio-economic factors as contributors to armed conflicts on the continent,” Chakwera said.
He observed that Malawi was of the view that Regional Economic Communities (RECs) should serve as effective building blocks of the AU and bridges between the AU and member states in achieving the objectives of Silencing the Guns Agenda, through the development of regional action plans.
Chakwera further said Malawi wanted the international community to work closely with African States, the AU and RECs to eradicate conditions that germinate seeds of violence.
“This should be done by, among other means, supporting the AU’s and RECs’ peace building efforts, as well as stopping weapons flows to the continent,” Chakwera said.
AU Chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa said, despite signing of the 2013 agreement, guns were still blazing in some places on the continent.
He said peace and stability would remain elusive if African leaders did not address the connection between security and development. During the meeting, Malawi supported the proposal to extend the mandate of the programme of silencing the guns and the roadmap beyond 2020 for 10 more years (2021-2030), with periodic reviews every two years.
