We are no longer colonies, Zuma tells UN

President Jacob Zuma has called on Africans – including those in the diaspora – “to accept” their continent was changing for the better and “was open for business”.

Yesterday, Browne attended the UN Gender Meeting, and held bilateral discussions with the Prime Ministers of Thailand, Mauritius and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the President of Kenya and the Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Li Yong.

On Friday, Zuma said Africa is not being treated fairly with regards to global decisions being made at the UN.

The President added that Africa deserves to have a permanent seat in the Council. We are free, independent sovereign states, he said. “There is no pace at all, especially the Security Council reform”, said Dlamini-Zuma.

“What we’ve done this year, and I think it’s just a small step forward, but an extremely necessary and important step, is to have a text on which negotiations will be based”, said Kutesa, who is also Uganda’s Foreign Minister.

Zuma on Sunday said South Africa would call for an expansion of the UNSC with four permanent seats going to Africa.

“There is no doubt that over the past decade, Africa has come from being the so-called hopeless continent to being a rising star”, he said.

What we see in the current regime is a deliberate policy towards African nationalisation of specific economic sectors that has been underwritten by the productive business and middle class. What Mr Leon needs to factor into his assessment is that President Jacob Zuma, like his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, is weak – his ability to retain his power base is through patronage and favours.

The documents included photos, which President Zuma identified as being him and recalled the partnership between Antigua & Barbuda and the ANC when other countries had refused to grant them entry. “Before [President] Robert Mugabe talks about UN Security Council reform, he should tell us, where is Itai Dzamara”.

He was abducted by uknown assailants and the Zimbabwe courts have ordered police and other security agents to look to him.

“It is unacceptable and unjustifiable that more than one billion people in the African continent are still excluded as permanent members of the key decision making structure of the United Nations, the UN Security Council”.

Three African countries now on the non-permanent rotation are Angola, Chad and Nigeria.