Abraham Amaliba, the Acting Director General of the (NRSA)
The Acting Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) and member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) legal team, Abraham Amaliba, has expressed disappointment in South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over his visit to the Oval Office to meet US President Donald Trump concerning the controversial genocide issue in South Africa.
In an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb on May 26, 2025, marking African Union Day, celebrated on May 25, Amaliba described the situation as “embarrassing and sad.”
The politician and legal practitioner noted that he is unconvinced African leaders have done enough to realise the vision of the AU’s founding fathers.
“I’m not sure that our transition from the OAU to AU has changed anything significantly. We don’t have Africans acting independently in dealings with foreign partners such as the Bretton Woods institutions and countries from the Global North,” he said.
Amaliba lamented what he sees as a departure from the principles laid down by the AU’s forebears.
“I think that if we had adhered to what our forefathers said, particularly Julius Nyerere and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, to speak with one voice, the world would have taken Africa more seriously. As we speak, I’m afraid I am not convinced that African leaders are making meaningful progress toward African unity,” he said.
He cited the appeal of figures like Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré and South Africa’s Julius Malema among African youth as indicative of dissatisfaction with the current crop of leaders.
“The reason why you see the youth of Africa gravitating towards leaders like Ibrahim Traoré and Julius Malema is because they tend to speak in a way the youth expect our leaders to speak. It was sad to see Ramaphosa in the Oval Office being virtually scolded by Trump, I was sad as an African,” he added.
Amaliba stressed the need for African leaders to take bold and decisive steps toward the continent’s development.
“We need to do more as Africans and as African politicians,” he emphasised.
His comments follow a speech by President John Mahama on AU Day. President Mahama, who currently serves as the AU’s Champion for Reparations, reaffirmed his commitment to working with African leaders and stakeholders to achieve lasting progress.
In his Africa Day 2025 message, President Mahama stated, “The AU has declared 2025 as the Year for Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations. As the AU Champion for this critical cause, I am deeply committed to working with you all to achieve this objective.”
The African Union has designated 2025 as the Year of ‘Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations’, a theme aimed at generating momentum across the continent for reparations, driving AU-wide engagement, and supporting the implementation of reparations for historical injustices, including transatlantic slavery, colonialism, and apartheid.
VPO/MA
Meanwhile, catch up on the concluding part of the story of Fort William, where children were sold in exchange for kitchenware, others, below: