Thabiso Scotch Mufambi
It was against such a backdrop that African leaders gathered virtually recently for the 34th African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government Summit.
And rather than being phased by these headwinds, the AU tackled its marquee Agenda 2063 head on, electing senior officers to lead the bloc’s Commission, assessing gaps in implementation of programmes, and strategising harmonised approaches to tackling Covid-19.
Africa’s leaders kept faith in incumbent chair Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat and retained him for a second and final four-year term as Commission Chairperson, and elected Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa as his deputy.
The Commission tabled its 2017-2020 end of term report, detailing milestones and challenges.
“We focused on implementation of key priorities laid out in Africa’s 50-year blueprint – Agenda 2063. We are making progress, albeit uneven, in beginning to realise its aspirations,” Mr Mahamat wrote.
The flagship achievement, of course, was the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which was “signed, and entered into force in the shortest time ever witnessed for negotiations of a trade agreement of this size”.
Mr Mahamat added that the launch of the Open Skies Initiative, the Free Movement Protocol and the introduction of the African Passport all aided acceleration of the continent’s integration agenda.
On the peace and security front, the Commission chief said the AU made progress on the quest to “Silencing the Guns”.
“We made some breakthroughs on the Ethiopia-Eritrea border, in Sudan, and in South Sudan. We contributed to the conclusion of peace and reconciliation in the Central African Republic, provided technical assistance to the DRC, and supported the transition in Somalia.
“We revitalised the AU Peace Fund and mobilised hundreds of millions in support of our Member States’ struggles in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, among other regions, in the areas of capacity building, conflict prevention and peace support operations. However, the continent still endures structural challenges to attain lasting peace and sustainable development,” he said.
In the report, titled “Taking Stock, Charting the Future”, it was revealed that the revitalised Peace Fund had been resourced with US$179,5 million from AU member state contributions since 2017. This is the largest amount of money African countries have ever contributed to the fund since it was established in 1993.
“The target is to have the full US$400 million Peace Fund member state endowment in place by 2023. The Peace Fund will enable the AU to drive its own peace and security agenda based on its own assessment of the problems and its own determination of the appropriate solutions,” the report said.
“Member states are urged to demonstrate increased and sustained political commitment and engagement to ensure the creation of requisite conditions for Silencing the Guns in Africa, which will facilitate realisation of a conflict-free continent, in line with Agenda 2063.”
Tackling the Pandemic
On the health front, the AU Commission said it focused on strengthening the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), particularly in its response to Ebola and Covid-19.
The past experiences with Ebola, it was noted, had set the tone for the continent to address Covid-19.
“To strengthen capacity at healthcare facilities and of healthcare workers, personnel were trained in different aspects of the Covid-19 response. As of mid–November 2020, Africa CDC had trained 1 288 healthcare workers in laboratory diagnostics, infection prevention and control, risk communication, clinical care and surveillance through face-to-face meetings and 67 161 through online channels. Also, Africa CDC deployed 188 experts, and 9 245 community health workers to support response activities in member states,” the report said.
“To ensure an uninterrupted supply of diagnostics and medical supplies, Africa CDC has established a logistics and supply network within Africa that facilitates pool procurement, collection and distribution of diagnostics and medical supplies to Member States.
“As of mid-November 2020, Africa CDC had distributed 6 029 832 test kits, 10 402 086 face masks, 743 443 face shields, 9 346 goggles, 536 111 protective suits, 395 thermal scanners, 3 533 infrared thermometers, 636 ventilators, and 1 800 000 Dexamethasone tablets to member states.”
The report said the AU Covid-19 Response Fund, launched in March 2020 by then AU Chairperson President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, had to date received pledges of over US$41 million, of which more than US$16 million had already arrived.
To further strengthen health systems on the continent, the Commission has collaborated with the African Development Bank for Pharmaceutical Development in Africa through a fund to support African manufacturers of medicines, medical products and devices.
Leaner Structure
The Commission said a restructuring of the bloc had commenced, and the secretariat now had a Chair, Deputy Chair and six commissioners rather than 10 in that last category.
The reforms are in line with a January 2017 AU Heads of State and Government decision to re-position the organisation to meet the evolving needs of Africans.
“A decision was made by the Assembly that there would only be one Ordinary Summit per year, a decision that has been implemented since 2019. A streamlined agenda for the Summit focusing on only three key strategic issues for the Assembly’s attention has been instituted.
“The systematic categorisation of decisions has been established to improve the quality of decision-making processes, enhance implementation and tracking of progress,” the report added.
The reform process is intricately linked to the need to self-finance AU programmes.
To that end, 26 of the AU’s 55 members are at various stages of implementing a 0,2 percent levy on exports to fund the bloc’s activities.
“Excluding peace support operations (PSOs), member states have since 2017 been contributing more to the Union budget. This is an attestation to meeting targets set during the June 2015 Assembly decision on self-financing, i.e. funding 100 percent of the operational budget, 75 percent of the program and 25 percent to PSOs with locally generated funds.
“Although member states contributions are now more than those contributed by partners, the following are noteworthy: There has been a collection rate of an average of 76 percent since 2016. Collections have never reached 100 percent, the highest being 79 percent recorded in 2019.
The number of member states defaulting went down to 15 percent in 2019 from an average of 33 percent per annum.
“In 2020, collections from member states reached 61 percent as of October 2020 compared with 73 percent received during the same period in 2019,” the AU Commission said.
Africa Factbook
The AU has also been keen on pursuing the first Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) Priority Action Plan (2012-2020), which resulted in an increase of 16 066km of roads, 4 077km of rail, 3 506km of power transmission lines, and 17 additional member states connected to regional fibre optic cables.
On the cultural and heritage front, the Commission – with support from South Africa – has started digitising written, photographic and audio-visual material of the AU and its organs to create a digital repository of records dating back to the organisation’s founding in 1963.
Further, and in line with Aspiration 5 of Agenda 2063 which seeks to enhance a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics, the Africa Factbook was launched with the support of government of Zimbabwe and the Institute of African Knowledge.