The toothless International Assembly is due to meet this week again. The Assembly has no power but is used to pacify members' demands for greater  involvement in setting the direction and policies of  ACCA. Most Council members never attend the Assembly's meeting and have thus no idea of the issues raised by it, anyway. The Assembly's meetings provide a nice photo opportunity for some. So far it has failed to have any impact on ACCA affairs. Has it introduced any more opennness and democracy in ACCA? Has it ended the cesnorships policies of the leaderhip? It is difficult to think of anything that it has achieved.

The Assembly is a camouflage for the real power enjoyed by unelected people. Power and decision making remains centralized in the hands of the chief executive who is not elected by anyone. Rather than helping developing countries to develop their social infrastructure, ACCA is using the International Assembly as a continuation of its imperial and colonial rule. It is interested in making money rather than enabling the local people to be masters of their own destinies.

If ACCA really is 'global', as it claims then it needs to end the mentality which requires that 'London must rule'. It needs to follow a United Nations type (or a federal) structure. Under this, members living in countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Malaysia, Hong Kong etc. would be free to control their own destiny, elect their own councils, elect their own leadership, discipline their own members and decide their policies according to their local cultural and historical circumstances. How can the bureaucrats sitting in London decide what is good ethical conduct for Western, Islamic and other cultures?

These separate but 'autonomous' constituencies would then be free to send delegates to a global council, should they so wish and develop issues of mutual interest. This would be an arena of equals and not the present colonial structure in which London always rules. But the ACCA leadership does not want this. It wants London, like the old colonial days, to be in control. Besides, the present colonial structure also enables the leadership (and their friends) to make Viceroy-like all expenses-paid trips to exotic places. And they don't want to lose that perk do they?