DP ADMITTED AS FULL MEMBER OF DUA

DP ADMITTED AS FULL MEMBER OF DUA

Georges Bibi and Paul Chow at DUA meeting.

The Democratic Party (DP) was admitted as a full member of the Democrat Union of Africa (DUA), at its party leaders meeting in Dar es Salaam last Sunday. The DP was represented at the meeting by its party leader Mr Paul Chow and party executive member Mr Georges Bibi – who is also the DP acting General Secretary. The Democrat Union of Africa (DUA) represents both ruling and opposition parties with centre and centre right policies.

Party Leaders and other key delegates from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Namibia, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Tanzania gathered for DUA’s Campaign Manager & Executive Meeting in Dar es Salaam 17 and 18 February. The meeting sent a strong statement on the need for good governance, fight against corruption; and monitoring of electoral processes in Africa in order to secure free and fair elections.

Delegates at the DUA meeting.

Full text of the Dar es Salaam Statement:

The Democrat Union of Africa (DUA), representing both ruling and opposition parties with centre and centre right policies, gathered from 17th to 18th February 2007 at Kilimanjaro Kempinski Hotel, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for the DUA Campaign Managers and Executive Committee Meeting;

Having received and discussed country reports from individual member political parties on the status of the respective parties and democracy in their nations;

Having shared knowledge and experience on campaigning particularly organizing to win and delivering a successful campaign;

Having deliberated on the roadmap of the Democrat Union of Africa (DUA) including the involvement of women and young people in the Union;

We hereby resolve to issue the following statement:

Africa needs values and alternative policies

We have noted with concern that poverty, ignorance and disease are still the problems afflicting the majority in most of the African countries. This results from inadequate democracies and the policies which are being implemented. Most of the African countries are still under the remnants of state centralization as opposed to people centred democratic governance and development. The nexus between multi-party democracy and development cannot be underestimated.

We therefore call upon people to support centre and centre right policies as a credible alternative to unprincipled policies, military and military backed dictatorship and failed ideologies like socialism and communism; thereby offering a new foundation of hope in African politics.

We affirm our belief that only democratic societies provide individuals with conditions for political liberty, personal freedom and equality of opportunities under the rule of law. This is to promote a culture of pluralistic competition, smaller yet effective government, low taxation, private ownership, free enterprise and socially oriented market economies that ensures access to services for all.

Democracy in Africa is at a Cross Roads

Many of the parties in power have developed multi party dictatorship in which, constitutionally, political parties are allowed but at the same time legal and social framework for their growth and survival are often and deliberately curtailed.

We call for clean and inclusive politics and maintaining institutional balance particularly regular free and fair election process, an independent judiciary that upholds the rule of law, a credible opposition, a vibrant civil society and a free press. This institutional tranquility cannot be achieved without peaceful and constitutional change of power. Only accountable and transparent governments are able to respond to the needs of the people, including access to education, other social services and curbing poverty.

Corruption is the enemy of the people

We recognize that grand corruption is pervasive in Africa. This has an adverse impact, not only siphoning the resources away from the people but also seriously affecting efforts to eradicate poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We call for cooperation amongst institutions that perform oversight functions in various countries in order to eliminate corruption. We also call for multi-lateral and bi-lateral cooperation between political parties in addressing this crisis.

We further call on our National Parliaments in African countries to put national interests first, rather than purely partisan concerns on national issues like corruption, embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds. We further call on political parties to be national rather than tribal based.

Democrat Union of Africa is moving ahead

We have adopted the road map of Democrat Union of Africa (DUA) with the mission of providing forums in which parties holding similar beliefs can come together and exchange views on matters of policy and organizational interest, to promote democracy and centre and centre-right policies in Africa. We have committed ourselves to widening the membership base, building capacities of political parties, networking and sending missions to monitor electoral processes in Africa.

Issued this day of 18th of February, 2007