Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA-Africa)

Also convinced of the need for common responses to the major challenges of globalisation facing Africa and boosting regional integration processes through an effective continental mechanism;

Recognising that opening up narrow domestic markets to greater trade and investment through freer movement of persons, goods, services and capital would accelerate growth thus, reducing excessive weaknesses of many of our Member States;

Further recognising that the Union Government should be built on common values that need to be identified and agreed upon as benchmarks;

Acknowledging the importance of involving the African peoples in order to ensure that the African Union is a Union of peoples and not just a "Union of States and governments," as well as the African Diaspora in the processes of economic and political integration of our continent;

Hereby declare as follows:

There is a need to accelerate the economic and political integration of the African continent, including the formation of a Union Government for Africa.
The ultimate objective of the African Union is to create the United States of Africa.
We reiterate our earlier decision on the rationalisation and strengthening of the Regional Economic Communities and the harmonisation of their activities so as to lead to the creation of an African Common Market, through the stages set in the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (Abuja Treaty), with a reviewed and shorter timeframe to be agreed upon in order to accelerate the economic integration.
We agree on the roadmap to attaining the Union Government as follows:
- To conduct immediately, an Audit of the Executive Council in terms of Article 10 of the Constitutive Act, the Commission as well as the other organs of the African Union in accordance with the Terms of Reference adopted by the 10th Extraordinary Session of our Executive Council held in Zimbali, South Africa on 10 May 2007.
- To commission detailed studies on the following:
  - identification of the contents of the Union Government concept and its relations with national governments
  - identification of domains of competence and the impact of its establishment on the sovereignty of member states
  - definition of the relationship between the Union Government and the Regional Economic Communities
  - elaboration of a roadmap and timeframe for establishing the Union Government
  - identification of additional sources of financing the activities of the Union.
The outcome of the studies will be submitted to a Committee of Heads of State and Government which will make appropriate recommendations to the next ordinary session of our Assembly.
We agree on the importance of involving the African peoples, including Africans in the Diaspora, in the processes leading to the formation of the Union Government.