AU head: Take responsibility
2008-01-31 19:13
Addis Ababa - The African Union's new chairperson, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, said on Thursday that Africa should not look outside but rather take responsibility for its own progress.
"We are sometimes ashamed of hearing about conflicts in Africa ... We should admit that the responsibility is ours," he said in Swahili in an inaugural speech after winning a vote for the rotating presidency of the 53-state body.
"We should count on ourselves first and foremost and not on the outside world, even if our partners are ready to help us," the 57-year-old said. "Our continent's future is in our hands".
Kikwete took over from Ghanaian President John Kufuor in a widely-anticipated election to the rotating presidency, which had to be taken by an east African nation this year.
Sudan's candidacy was rejected last year over member states' objections to the Khartoum regime's handling of the crisis in the war-torn western region of Darfur.
A fresh bid by Khartoum was nipped in the bud again this year when the east African grouping on Wednesday ruled out Sudan as its candidate.