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African Union: will reforms increase its efficiency?

African Heads of State who will be gathering at an African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa will have two difficult issues on the agenda: Reform and finance.

The high-profile meeting kicks off at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa with leaders of the 55 members’ states converging to discuss ways to improve life in Africa and reform the AU to better position for achieving set goals.

African leaders had agreed last year to reform the cash-strapped AU, lacking means to fund peacekeeping operations, which is still heavily dependent on foreign financing with two-thirds of the funds coming from donors.

In 2015, 72% of the operational budget came from international donors, like the United States and the European Union. Critics also argue that it has been too slow to respond to security threats.

“It is reckless for Africa to rely so heavily on sources of funding that are likely to dry up sooner rather than later, especially when we have the means to pay for programs that are beneficial to us,”  Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame, said.

Meanwhile, some progress is already being made as member states agreed on a proposal to finance the AU with a 0.2% levy on eligible imports last July. Twenty member states have signed up for this mechanism and 14 are about implementing it.

However, this might amount to double levy for some African regions as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have already implemented an import levy to finance its activities.

The AU will encourage investments from everybody, and China could become a heated topic at the summit.

The AU and China have already been collaborating closely. China deployed a permanent mission to the AU in early 2015 and also built the impressive new headquarters for the AU in Addis Ababa and is also funding infrastructural development in many African countries.

Other major challenges facing the AU and its leaders include:

Engaging the youths:

How to respond to the job and livelihood aspirations of Africa’s youths accounting for as much as three-quarters of the labour force in most countries remains an issue; many have gone to school and attended universities to become productive members of society, but end up being jobless.

High and still rising levels of unemployment among young people in Africa prompted heads of state at the AU summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to adopt a ‘Declaration on Creating Employment for Accelerating Youth Development and Empowerment’.

International relationship:

The AU now pays more attention to international development cooperation and relationship with international partners. This is most obvious in the case of China’s ever-growing presence in Africa, which the AU appears to regard as a positive factor.

The headquarters of the AU is now housed in a magnificent multi-million dollar complex in Addis provided by China as a “gift to Africa”.

However, Africa’s traditional partners in the West tend to view its relationship with China with much concern and doubts regarding the motive and outcome.

Citizens of some member states are apprehensive about the consequences to personal well-being and livelihoods with the growing Chinese presence in National economies, for instance, Kano State and its Fabrics Tanning are being overridden by the Chinese.

The AU would have to adopt an appropriate strategy to manage international cooperation in an era of globalization and a changing world order, which its member states would certainly need to complement National development efforts.

Security:

A strong and peaceful Africa is a priority for the majority of African leaders, but the big question for Heads of States attending the 30th African Union summit will be finding strategies for achieving this feat.

Many parts of Africa are faced with security issues, from the As-Shabaab, the Boko Haram insurgents, as well as others. With more than $50 million spent on peace-keeping in Africa, allocations to more productive activities like job creation are far reduced.

There is also the challenge of good economic governance as well as sustainable development, human rights, quality healthcare, information and computer technology, integrated regional development, cultural and heritage preservation, and promotion.

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