Ruto asks peers to ‘donate’ powers to African Union

Kenya’s President William Ruto is asking member states of the African Union (AU) to surrender some powers to the continental bloc as part of reforms needed to make the body work.

President Ruto made the revolutionary suggestion on Thursday at the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) summit in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

He asked the audience to treat reforms in the AU as a ‘priority’, warning that the vision of a continental bloc without such sacrifices, including Agenda 2063 and mantras such as ‘African solutions to African problems’, would never will also not be corporeal.

“Member states should consider donating power to the AU in trade, regional and global security, as well as other areas in which Africa can personally benefit from joining together,” he said in his speech.

The regional trading bloc is holding its 22nd summit of 14 member states mainly in the east, central and southern regions of Africa, but also includes Egypt and Tunisia in the north.

“We should merge the AU summit and the position of chair of the AU commission into one to give it enough leverage to engage on behalf of Africa,” he added.

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There were no immediate signs that the proposal could gain traction yet, even though other African leaders have often acknowledged that the bloc needs change.

The proposal to donate these powers, if passed, could mimic the EU, which traditionally negotiates trade and global security policies jointly. For example, the EU is negotiating a trade deal with the East African Community, which Europe wants it to sign as a bloc as well.

The European Union also has a head of foreign policy and security issues. And even though individual countries have their own foreign ministers, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy generally speaks for the bloc as its top diplomat. The European Union has generally been opposed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the other hand, the AU has been unable to rally a common position for the members.

Dr Ruto’s proposal to merge the AU Summit Chair with the Commission could mean one of the two ends. The summit chair is a rotational, ceremonial role, shared annually between heads of state and government. The commission chairmanship, currently held by Chadian diplomat Moussa Faki Mahamat, is an elected position held every four years and the winner runs the secretariat of the AU.

au reform

The commission chair serves as the continental bloc’s official spokesperson, but is often pulled by slow decision-making by the summit.

Dr Ruto also spoke generally on trade and other development issues the AU should lead but lacks the capacity to, which he recently suggested in a speech to the Pan African Parliament in Pretoria.

“To ensure that the African Union performs at the level of its aspirations, it will be essential to ensure that it empowers itself with sufficient capacity. Otherwise, the African Solution, Agenda 2063, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and the young, clean green continent of the future will never be a reality,” he said.

“The AU reform agenda, therefore, must be a priority and we must inquire and steer the process to ensure that structurally, the roles of the bureau, summit, committees, regional caucus, secretariat and commission are aligned to bring Africa together.” are duly rationalized to deliver a fit-for-purpose continental governance body with the ability to engage globally,” he added.

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Talk of reforms for the AU began in 2016 when Rwandan President Paul Kagame was elected to champion reforms. A team of nine other experts led by him identified 19 areas of improvement after looking into the processes of the AU, including narrowing down of priorities, clear division of roles among its structures, making the AU Commission more efficient and effective. Creating, strengthening the current sanctions regime AU, improving decision making and achieving sustainable funding.

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“The Reform Advisory Team concluded that in order to realize the ambitions of Agenda 2063 and to ensure an effective and efficient way of carrying out its mandate, the AU needs to reposition itself and ensure that it The requisite institutional capacity and capabilities are in place given the evolving economic, political and social needs of the continent,” their report said.

There have been some movements since then, including giving greater autonomy to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa-CDC), merging departments, and making the election of office holders more tied to the merit of candidates. However, the monetary contribution of member states remains problematic.

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