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Momodou
Denmark
11641 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Jul 2006 : 12:33:15
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AFRICAN TRADE UNIONIST CALLS FOR SPEEDY INTEGRATION
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
Hassan Sunmonu, the secretary general of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), has called on the African Union Heads of States to fast track the integration of Africa. Addressing a news conference on Thursday at the Kairaba Hotel, Mr. Sunmonu said that the best strategy to develop Africa is to integrate its peoples and communities.
He called on the AU leadership to revoke visa requirements among member states, which he said will promote trade and boost the continent’s economy. “We do not need visas. When people can come and go, it promotes trade. Revoking visa requirements is the best means of integrating Africa’s economy,” Sunmonu said.
He added that the AU heads of states should priorities regional infrastructural development. “Building roads and railways will facilitate the easy movement of goods and peoples and that too will enhance Africa’s integration,” he said.
Sunmonu advised the AU leadership to take a common stand on the World Trade Organizations, the Economic Partnership Agreements and the African Growth and Opportunities Act inorder for Africa’s interest not to be undermined at the international market.
He also expressed that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank’s Structural Adjustment Programme have destroyed the African economy and recommended that Africa governments should create more jobs, stop taking debts and focus on value-added products inorder to end poverty on the continent. Mr. Sunmonu, whose office is in Accra, Ghana, is also a member of the Economic and Social Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC).
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 55/2006, 20-23 July, 2006
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