Senegal: Aid Tops Agenda As Islamic Conference Opens in Dakar
Posted to the web 13 March 2008
Hamadoutidiane Sy
Dakar
Co-existence in the same organisation of extremely rich nations (mostly Arab countries) and extremely poor ones (mostly sub-Saharan Africa nations) is among the key issues the host country of the 11th summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has attempted to place highly in the agenda of the summit that opened on Thursday.
Ever since he was granted the privilege to host he the summit, five years ago,
President Abdoulaye Wade, has pledged to make Arab money, mostly invested in Western countries to also benefit the non oil producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
On the eve of the 11th summit, Senegalese Foreign Affairs minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, was again strongly defending the position, pointing at what some perceive as a paradoxical situation for an organisation primarily set up to express solidarity "between brothers and sisters" of the same faith.
For Mr Gadio, Africa needs the solidarity and money of the rich Arab nations to overcome its development problems, and he insisted that he is "not talking about Zakat" - the percentage of one's personal wealth that each Muslim should compulsorily give away to the poor once a year.
The Minister, talking to the media with the secretary general of the OIC, Mr Ekemeldin Ishanoglu by his side ahead of the meeting of the heads of state, stressed that the money that was needed in Africa was investment money.
"The Putrajaya summit in Malaysia (held in October 2003) marked a turning point for Asian member countries; the Dakar summit should equally mark a turning point for African Muslim nations", the Senegalese minister said.
Actually he has been saying this for weeks at experts meetings, preparatory sessions, and ministerial conferences. And days before the summit Senegal has convened quite a certain number of such meetings to elaborate proposals on this issue.
"Instead of investing all their money exclusively in the Western world, the rich countries of the OIC should also think of channelling this money to Africa", Mr Amadou Tidiani Diallo, a professor at the Arabic Department of Cheikh Anta Diop University said.
In fact for the past few years, ministers of the "African group" within the OIC have been working to get more support and a "new partnership" with the rich nations of the Islamic community, including debt relief, more investment and aids.
Reminded journalists
During the meeting with the press ahead of the summit, Mr Ishanoglu, reminded the journalists that an extraordinary summit held in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in December 2005 included in its 10 year Plan of action, a whole section on poverty alleviation for the least developed countries, most of which are located in Africa.
One of the outcomes of this summit in the holy Islamic city specified the need for the OIC to strengthen its activities in "the field of socio-economic development" focussing on "poverty alleviation and supporting development in the least developed countries in Africa", according to a draft document of the OIC.
The plan of action also "focuses on ways to utilise the abundant resources and capacities of the OIC member countries to be channelled" to these countries.
To implement these decisions, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), an agency of the OIC, has been assigned with the task to set up a "special fund for Africa" and the institution has pledged to collect some $10 billion.
But so far, only a quarter of this amount ($2.6 billion) has been gathered, by the financial institution, including its own contribution.
Meanwhile, as the summit opened, it was overshadowed by a confrontation between Chad and Sudan, adds Reuters.
The meeting, however, started on a sour note as Chad accused its neighbour and fellow OIC member Sudan of launching a rebel attack across its border.
"The Chadian government informs national and international opinion that Sudan on Wednesday March 12, 2008 launched several heavily armed columns against Chad," an official statement released in the Chadian capital N'Djamena said.
It was a major embarrassment for President Wade who had billed the summit as the opportunity for a definitive peace deal between the two oil-producing states, after five previous agreements had collapsed.
l
A deal seemed unlikely after Sudanese President Omar Hassan el-Bashir failed to turn up to a meeting with Chadian leader Idriss Deby late on Wednesday, leaving UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, called as witness, waiting for nearly three hours.
source: allAfrica.com
Hivi kweli unaweza kusema Somalia leo na majanga yake wanahaja ya kujiuliza membership yao na AU ati kwa sababu haiwasaidii kitu?.. je, kosa lipo kwa AU kama chama ama ni viongozi wetu wa AU kina Kikwete ndio wabaya..Pengine pia kosa linaweza kuwa wasomali wenyewe!
Congo wanauana kila siku acha hizo nchi nyinginezo lakini haiwezi kuwa sababu ya kutojiunga na jumuiya zinazotaka kutoa misaada iwe kifedha ama mediation.
Binafsi nachofahamu OIC kama IMF inasaidia sana nchi nyingi isipokuwa watawala wenyewe ndio mtindo wa EPA tu unatumika..
Sasa cha kujiuliza ni kutojiunga na OIC ama kuwaondoa viongozi wabaya wanaotumia vibaya misaada hiyo...Kikwete toka amekuwa mwenyekiti wa AU amefanya nini kuisaidia Somalia.. nothing afadhali hata hao OIC pamoja na kwamba wanapeleka chakula na madawa tu... Uganda wameprovide jeshi la Ulinzi nje kabisa ya matakwa ya AU ama UN..
Ni uongo mkubwa tukisema ati Tanzania haihitaji misaada kwa sasa hivi isipokuwa swala kubwa zaidi kwetu ni kuangalia malipo ya misaada hiyo...
Hapa umeongea kuwa tatizo ni sisi wenyewe ikimaanisha hata waje malaika kutuongoza kama hatubadilika miaka nenda miaka rudi tutabaki vile vile. Kwa suala la malipo ya mokopo na utoaji wa misaada ndio hapo watu wengi walipo na wasiwasi mkubwa labda wewe utufafanulie.
....Halafu bob, sii kweli OIC inataka kugawa Utajiri wake! huu ni uongo kaongezea mwandihsi kwa sababu hakuna mtu, taasisi wala nchi inayotaka kugawa Utajiri wake..Kutoa Zaka ama sadaka kanisani ama msikitini hugawi utajiri wako hata kidogo..Hayo ni maswala ya usocialist ambayo yamepitwa na wakati.
Ndio mentality ya nchi nyingi za Kiafrika ilivyo wanajiunga ili kupata misaada,
kama article hapo juu invyosema ambayo hata sisi wengi tunayo. Kama ni misaada tumepokea mingi sana mbona haijatusaidia. Kuna wakati nadhani Tanzania ndio ilikuwa nchi inayopata misaada mingi south of sahara ...lakini angalia tulipo leo. Important of all we need to clean our house first na kutumia resources zetu vizuri. Nchi ambayo inazungumziwa kuwa 3rd producer of gold worldwide hatuhitaji kuwa hapa tulipo.