RUTO RALLIES AFRICAN LEADERS FOR ACTION AND EMPOWERMENT OF AU COMMISSION

The President of Kenya, His Excellency William Samoei Ruto, has made a clarion call on the Heads of States in Africa to empower the African Union Commission with the needed funding support and authority to engage on behalf of the Continent with the international community on matters that affect Africa.

 

He noted that the African Union Commission cannot function properly when the Heads of States hold all the powers and work in silos with the international community. “We are not helping ourselves by working in silos. And we cannot negotiate well with the international community in our individual country capacity,” he stressed

 

Addressing Members of Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament, Civil Society Organizations, government functionaries, and the media during the 3rd African Parliamentarians Summit on Climate Policy and Equity, and the official opening of the Second Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament, Mr. Ruto bemoan the situation where other countries invite all African Heads of States to a meeting to discuss matters affecting Africa, noting that, “These meetings are usually not productive because there is not enough time to properly engage and address the issues at hand. We turn these meetings into taking photos and eating food, with no proper outcomes at the end of it”.

 

He indicated that to halt this trend, “For Africa to hold meaningful discussions with global partners, African heads of State and government have resolved that partnership summits by external parties shall be reviewed with a view to providing an effective framework for African Union partnerships. Africa will be represented by the Troika, namely the current incoming and outgoing chairpersons of the African Union, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, and the Chairpersons of the Regional Economic Communities as well as the Chairperson of NEPAD”.

He observed that to reposition the AU Commission, the Pan-African Parliament has to urgently review the funding arrangements to ensure that AU budgets are financed primarily by Member States and secondarily by external partners. In turn, this will require a mechanism where AU member States are up-to-date with their contributions with regard to all their commitments.

 

“As matters stand, our most core mandates depend on the goodwill of development partners, including critical peace and security matters. This needs to change. African solutions must look like solutions and, in principle, they ought to emanate from the Member States,” he stressed.

 

 

“As legislators, you are mandated not only to formulate law and policy but also to rigorously oversee their implementation. To ensure that the African Union performs at the level of its aspirations, it will be necessary for you, as legislators, representatives, and overseers, to make sure that it empowers itself with sufficient capacity. Otherwise, African Solutions, Agenda 2063, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, and the Young, Clean Green Continent of the Future will remain mere pipedreams”.

 

President Ruto further emphasized that the AU Reform Agenda must therefore become a priority for the Second Ordinary Session of the Pan-African Parliament, and Parliament must interrogate and conduct the process to ensure that structurally, the roles of the Bureau, Summits, Committees, Regional Caucuses, Secretariat and Commission are duly rationalized to give Africa a fit-for-purpose continental governance body worth its name.

 

“With this vision in mind, I sought and was privileged to receive the approval of the African Union’s Head of States and Governments Summit to have the honor of hosting the African Climate Summit in Nairobi this year. This will be a major gathering of African and global leaders to deliberate and consolidate a clear African position and clear African voice as we project our agenda in the Global Stocktake engagements and the build-up to COP28. The summit also provides an opportunity to highlight and forge consensus on the modalities of unlocking Africa’s vast potential to positively impact the climate agenda and rally the world to tap the numerous opportunities that Africa presents towards global net-zero ambition”.

 

Still, on the agenda of repositioning Africa through the AU Commission, President Ruto noted that it is about time that Africa demands and deserves two permanent seats at the Security Council of the United Nations (UN).

 

He indicated that the UN is an important forum for transacting global affairs in diplomacy, peace, security, and trade, among others. But Africa, and indeed the Global South, find itself disadvantaged by the current configuration of the UN, a configuration that was established close to 80 years ago after the Second World War.

 

“But the world has since changed tremendously. Countries that had not become self-determining have since attained independence and are making a huge contribution to their peoples, continents, and the world. It is, therefore, time to reform the UN Security Council and change it from an exclusive club of 5 permanent members to a more representative global council that works for the interests of the whole world,” he added. 

 

Addressing the media after his keynote address at the Pan-African Parliament, His Excellency Ruto, called on the World Bank and the IMF to provide a fair playing ground for Africa in accessing development funding, noting that “The current International Financial System is structured in a way to make Africa fail”.

 

According to him, the classification of Africa as a risky continent has made investments and accessing development funds expensive as compared to the classification of the West.  

 

“We must therefore work together to make our continent prosperous so that it serves our people now and generations to come, and improve our relationships with global business and global investments,” he proposed.