Kenya President William Ruto has been designated the African Union Champion for Institutional Reform.
The Assembly of the African Union heads of State and Government on Saturday bestowed on President Ruto the responsibility of providing political leadership and vision and completing the Comprehensive Institutional Reform Initiative that started in 2016.
He takes over from President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
The reform involves reforming the structure, functioning and focus of the African Union Commission, AU Organs and Specialised Agencies so that they become more effective and efficient in managing the programmes of the African Union.
Kagame lists achievements
President Kagame ended his mandate as leader of the Institutional Reform of the African Union by presenting his report on African Union Reforms.
“Among the achievements we can point to is the revitalization of the Peace Fund. Almost $400 million has been mobilized. As a direct result, the United Nations Security Council recently decided to finance three-quarters of African Union peace operations for the first time. This was only possible because the African Union today is more fit for purpose than it was. And we are getting better at defining our common interests, and advocating for them,” he said.
He added: “We still have a long way to go, for the African Union to be as strong as we want and need it to be. We know where we want to be as a continent. Now, what seems often to be missing is the political will to implement what we ourselves have decided.”
According to Kagame, there are a few pending items which need to be finalized related to the restructuring of the African Union organs, and the division of labour between the Commission and Regional Economic Communities, as referred to earlier.
“Africa is not a monolith. Member States will always have differing views. We should not pretend these differences do not exist but should focus on finding a middle ground. Here, we should keep in mind the global context. The world is facing unprecedented crises, and everyone is impacted, without any exception. We therefore have to — more than ever — depend on each other,” he noted.
“We know where we want to be as a continent. Now, what seems often to be missing is the political will to implement what we ourselves have decided. I hope that the result reflects well on all of us and that we will continue to push ourselves to make the African Union even better in the future,” he added.