Story: Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
A flag-raising ceremony to mark the 45th anniversary of Africa Day was held in Accra yesterday.
This year’s celebration was on the theme, “Meeting the Millennium Development Goals on Water and Sanitation”.
The theme was chosen to remind African governments to step up efforts at solving problems relating to water and sanitation as vital ingredients of healthy living in Africa.
It is also in line with their commitment to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and to improve sanitation
The Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps, Mr Tete Jean Pierre Gbikpi-Benissah, and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mr Joe Ghartey, hoisted the AU and the Ghana flags, respectively.
The AU Chairperson, Mr Jean Ping, in an address read on his behalf by Mr Gbikpi-Benissah, said the potential for Africa’s growth and development was inextricably linked with its environment, which is one of the determinant factors of the continent’s wealth and health.
He said it was, therefore, incumbent on all Africans to value and protect the environment for the sake of Africa’s development.
“The day provides us with an opportunity to reflect collectively and individually on the impact of our previous actions and strategies and map out a vision for the years ahead in our collective efforts to reverse the negative impacts of climate change,” he said.
Mr Ping commended the strides made by member states, with support from civil society and other development partners, in safeguarding the environment.
He, however, said there was no room for complacency “as our continent is facing formidable challenges, including climate change, skyrocketing food and oil prices”.
He said last year was a tough one for the African continent as 17 countries witnessed severe flooding, which resulted in heavy destruction of crops, farmlands, livestock, residential units and infrastructure such as roads, schools, health establishments and other social institutions, with thousands of people losing their lives or means of livelihood.
He said the next AU Summit, which would be held in June/July this year, would, among other things, discuss the impact of climate change on water and sanitation and the global oil crisis which he said “is bleeding African economies, thereby posing a serious threat to the continent’s potential to achieve sustainable development and sustainable livelihood for its people”.
Mr Ping urged AU member states, regional economic communities, grass-roots organisations and international development partners, particularly UN agencies, to make concerted efforts to address the challenges of climate change, water and sanitation, food and oil crises whose combined effects on the lives of African people were terribly immense.
Mr Ghartey, for his part, said whereas globally some countries were on track to meeting the MDG targets on drinking water and sanitation, the same could not be said of sub-Saharan Africa where, in many of those countries, progress had been rather slow.
He said it was expected that the day would stimulate the AU and its member states to adopt strategies and approaches to ensure that Africa was not the odd one out when the balance sheet on the achievement of the MDGs was drawn at the end of the reporting period in 2015.
“As we reflect on our common African heritage and reaffirm our commitment to the ideals of the union, we must fully acknowledge the obvious fact that nobody has a bigger stake in and a greater responsibility for developing Africa than we Africans ourselves,” Mr Ghartey said.
The ceremony was held on Friday, May 23, 2008 in view of the fact that this year’s celebration falls on Sunday. The President, by Executive Instrument, has declared Monday, May 26, a public holiday which will be observed throughout the country .
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