The president of Malawi has been chosen to assume the rotating presidency of the African Union, Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader and the body’s outgoing chairman, has said, according to Aljazeera.Net Tuesday.
Gaddafi told an AU summit in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, on Sunday that Bingu wa Mutharika would replace him, ending speculation that the Libyan leader would seek another term.
– My brother [and] president of the republic of Malawi will replace me and take over, Gaddafi said at the opening day of the three-day summit attended by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general.
Gaddafi’s presidency of the AU has been marked by his efforts to promote his vision of a “United States of Africa”, although little progress has been made during his 12 months in charge.
The veteran Libyan leader, elected chairman of the 53-nation AU at its annual summit last year despite opposition from some African leaders, said he would continue to push his dream of a fully integrated continent.
In his acceptance speech, Mutharika said it was time for Africa to fulfill its promise, adding “the time has come for Africa to develop Africa”.
“Africa is not a poor continent but the African populations are poor when we have actually a lot of natural resources,” he said.
