The Congress resolutions reflect some of the concerns of the various social forces, the groups and the wide ranging nature of participation. These Congresses should lead to generational change of leadership both in terms of ideas and the movement’s political direction. However, this requires a certain level of willingness to work with all Africans, and not to seek to exclude any African or people of African descent. * Please send comments to editor[at]pambazuka[dot]org or comment online at Pambazuka News. The interim period would be used to organize regional meetings and consultations to ensure broad base participation. There can be a third, a fourth and fifth 8th Congress. The Movement must re-awaken Africa. As a result, some of the delegates from Ghana, i.e. These underlie the importance which many African institutions attach to the Pan African Congress. The responsibility is with the Governing Council and the IPC to immediately rectify the operational and structural impediments that have undermined the efficiency of the Secretariat. The criticisms also noted that in regards to the preparation of 8th PAC there was inadequate coordination and communication as well as financial and administrative constraints and inadequate representation of PAM structures in the planned 8th PAC (Ghana). This reflected strength of commitment, political maturity, compromise and common purpose thus preventing a rupture and allowing for broader participation and inclusion. This could not have happened without some form of accountability and transparency following the 7th PAC, and the way the Movement had been managed for the past 21 years.
It is important to recognize when reviewing our efforts the weaknesses and mistakes we reveal is a positive outcome when we use it to our organizational advantage! Why was the 8th PAC slated for Accra any different? * THE VIEWS OF THE ABOVE ARTICLE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE PAMBAZUKA NEWS EDITORIAL TEAM. Its resolutions capture the Congress’s desire to re-ignite the Pan African spirit, enthuse commitment to our African identity and inject energy into the Pan-African Movement. The Movement should move away from meaningless Congresses and respond in a more positive, progressive and radical way to the undercurrents which threaten to drown Africa. It may not sound churlish to suggest that only those with an open mind, the understanding and ideological clarity about the future of Africa; and see the Movement as a leading forces for change can exploit these opportunities. This meeting, attended by leaders of the continent, and from the Diaspora, pushed the process a notch further. A draft Memorandum of Understanding between the PAM and the Africa Union was proposed and circulated as part of the process of widening the reach of the PAM and its secretariat. Zaya Yeebo presents his personal reflections of the 8th Congress held in Accra in March, 2015, observing that the Congress sought to revive the Movement, to reaffirm its anti-imperialist, anti-neo-colonialist nature and helped to define a path for the continued growth and regeneration of African economies and politics. Unable to provide cogent arguments to support the near decline of the movement, and short of ideological clarity about the state of the movement and its inability to provide leadership, some elements resorted to the use of financial inducements to tame the restless youth who were agitating for transition. The 8th Congress took place in Ghana, during March 4-7th, 2015. It dawned on some of us that the Movement was headed for complete collapse unless some action was taken. This faction also had some objections to the participation and leadership role of the Africa Union in the Congress. In essence they demonstrated a reluctance to see the need for generational change and a rejuvenation of the Movement. * Zaya Yeebo is Director of the Accra-based Pan African Institute. Another conference organised by the UNDP in Accra in 2013 provided another opportunity for further discussions on the framework for the 8th Pan African Congress. Most people agreed that the time had come for a revival of the PAM which had gone into paralysis following the 7th Pan African Congress. So there has been an organic link between the anti-colonial movement, political activism and the Pan African Movement. (3) the general need to ensure a unifying and broadly inclusive 8th PAC process and outcome truly owned by all constituent elements of the Pan African Movement. Individuals took initiative to work through the problems. A second characteristic was that despite the many differences, there was consistent concurrence that in order to redress the economic, cultural and political disempowerment and racial based oppression of African peoples, mobilization and organization globally under the structure of Pan Africanism is essential. Generations later, activists, scholars, and community organizers are gathering for phase two of the 8th Pan African Congress to face modern issues, while focusing on global connectedness. In spite of all these attempts at sabotage, the Accra based Local Organising Committee (LOC) chaired by Mr. Kwesi Pratt, Jr. and the representative of the President of Ghana, Lt. Most important of all, the Movement has to be an avenue for ALL Africans and people of African descent the world over, for complete transformation of Africa into ‘the African We Want’. Another meeting organised by the UNDP/AU in Johannesburg in 2013 provided another opportunity for further discussions on efforts to revive the Pan African Movement, how to ensure generational change, and how to mobilise resources. Both Congresses were hugely successful, and provided an opportunity for the youth who have never been part of the Movement to learn about Pan Africanism.

An emergency meeting of the Governing Council and the International Preparatory Committee was held in Accra on 28 February 2015.

Was it for revitalizing the Pan African Movement or was it for Ghana’s Independence celebration and internal Ghanaian politics? Particularly so because the dates proposed coincided with the Government of Ghana’s Independence Day Celebrations. (2) the desire to ensure that 8th PAC was truly global in character and was more representative in terms of delegates, content and purpose; We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through the use of cookies and similar technologies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. The 8th Pan African Congress: Between opportunism and rejuvenation, Expanding access to justice through community paralegals, Reclaiming the narrative: Youth activism in the East African region, View more articles on Advocacy and Campaigns, South Africa’s liberation struggle history revisited, The Zerai Model of gendered people-centred approach to governance, ICT and social justice, View more articles on Books, Arts and Culture, Universal healthcare in Africa is a necessity for genuine development, The current state of South Africa’s public health care. Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps. In spite of these protestations, the Local Organizing Committee launched the 8th Pan African Congress in Accra in February 2015. The efforts at reviving the PAM Secretariat and of organising a Congress gained momentum at an Africa Union/UNDP event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where issues relating to the revival of the Movement and the relationship between the Movement and the African Union were discussed in great detail. These debates are vital and will help push Africa forward, but they cannot take place under a canopy of intolerance, naked aggression and corruption. So far, we are far from creating that world. In the end the Congress was fully supported by the Government of Ghana, friendly countries, individuals and organisations. First, a faction emerged which claimed that by asking African governments, particularly, the Government of Ghana, and the Africa Union (AU) to support the Congress, the Movement was surrendering itself to the “control” and possible manipulation of “neo-colonial” Governments and the Africa Union. The primary concern was that it did not allow sufficient time to mobilize for broad based representation from the different regions of the continent and the diaspora. It begs the question whether African mass movements, including civil society, community-based organisations, rural development organisations, farmers groups, youth groups, and peasant associations and NGOs should be denied the opportunity to play a leading role in the Pan African Movement. Although convened as a Pan African Congress it suffered from lack of consultation and inclusion. There was also concern that four days for a congress were insufficient. The 1st Pan African Congress was held in two phases. Sometimes, failure to acknowledge a successful outcome because it makes one uncomfortable, even when success is stirring you in the face is a mark of dishonesty. The result being that it cannot respond to crucial continental and global issues such as the death of African youths in the Mediterranean Sea, xenophobia in South Africa, and increasing poverty in the midst of plenty. However, leading lights must not allow the narcissim of small differences to take centre stage, much to the disadvantage of those who seek rejuvenation. The 6th Pan-African Congress followed a series of gatherings that dated back to 1900. Can African youth show solidarity with the youth in America and Europe under siege by forces of racism without the Africa Union and OUR governments? This position is a reflection of the arrogant and factional nature of the Movement, which recognises ‘professors’ and leaders of some civil society organisations and UN staff, but not the mass movement in Africa. Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta was also a leading light in the Pan African Movement, and rose to become the first President of Kenya.
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