Ghana has gained continental and international accreditation for its democratic model. Gamal Nkrumah surveys fast changing fortunes at this week's AU summit in Addis Ababa The inner sanctum of the headquarters of the African Union (AU) in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa was abuzz this week with action when African leaders assembled for the eighth AU summit. Topping the agenda was the Darfur crisis and the Somali crisis, but also on the minds of all was the issue of the AU presidency. Not all was what it appeared in Addis Ababa this week, Sudan's failure to secure the AU presidency an example. A considerable number of African countries, Arab North African countries included, declined to back Khartoum's bid for the presidency. Many African nations believe that Sudan is not handling the Darfur crisis competently. They feel that Sudanese authorities are to blame for the fast deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions in Sudan's war-torn western-most province. The Chadian government declared that if Sudan assumed the presidency of the AU it would withdraw from the 53-nation continental body. The Sudanese said that the AU presidency was rightfully theirs. Khartoum, however, quickly backed down. Until this week, the Sudanese had gotten along well with their rivals for the post of presidency of the AU. Now, in regional terms, Sudan appears isolated with neighbours and others reluctant to lend it support. After long deliberations, Ghana was chosen as a compromise candidate. Ghana's political and economic performance is widely seen as a hallmark of democratisation and economic liberalisation. Ghana symbolises the standing of those African countries that have adopted Western models of pluralistic democracy and economic deregulation. Ghana takes on a fresh challenge. Political stability, a vibrant multi-party and politically pluralistic system, economic deregulation and privatisation will stand the West African country in good stead. The West African nation of 24 million people is already a darling of the West. Ghana also happens to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence from Britain -- the first African country south of the Sahara to do so -- next month. Ghanaian President John Kufour is an amiable optimist, fired with a sense of morality, civic duty and a strong commitment to democracy. He has few enemies and many friends in Africa and around the word. He is known as a kindly and good-natured peacemaker -- just the right personality to deal with the prickly issue of Darfur. He is the sort of African leader that the West can trust and respect. That is a dubious honour in many African circles. Here there is consensus among African leaders that it is best for the continent's leaders to put their best foot forward. Kufour, like leaders of countries such as South Africa that are socially aware and internationally minded, is an excellent projection of the up-and- coming Africa in contemporary Western eyes. Sudan, on the other hand, is widely regarded as a troublemaker. With the majority of African political forecasters predicting that the Ghanaian presidency of the AU will be a fruitful one, hopes are running high that the crisis in Darfur will be resolved in 2007. Meanwhile, the strength of the global economy will have a big influence on the economic performance of the African continent. While many critics minimise the advantages to be gained from Ghana's AU presidency, they are wrong to do so. This can bring real benefits to Ghana and all of West Africa. The AU, cash-strapped as it is, is a fast changing organisation. The presidency was not taken seriously at first; regarded as something of a futile formality. It is no longer just about rotation. The country that heads the AU must now prove that it is worthy of the post. Above all it must be democratic. Despite repeated pleas to the contrary, Sudan does not fulfil the requirements. Ghana does. Sudan's oil-fuelled economic boom, while promising, proved not enough. A different standard was imposed, and herein is a small victory for Africa. The African peer review mechanism is now in full swing, an important development for the future of African continental politics.
