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Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Saturday urged African heads of state to reach agreement on long-discussed reforms of their continental body at a special summit in the Ethiopian capital.
Heads of state and ministers from 55 African Union member states met at the organization's headquarters for an attempt as an ultimate attempt to push through the reforms that had been under consideration for almost two years.
Declaring that "the end is near", AU President Kagame stressed the urgency of reforming an organization often perceived as indolent and donor dependent.
"Events on our continent and around the world continue to confirm the need and the urgency of this project," he said at the opening of the summit in the Ethiopian capital.
"The goal is simple: to strengthen Africa and give our people the future that it deserves," said Mr. Kagame, whose one-year term at the Presidency ends in January.
AU leaders have already achieved a reform goal on Saturday with the inauguration of a Peace Fund which, it is hoped, will bring in $ 400 million ($ 350.2 million). Euros) intended to cope with crises on the continent before they turn into large-scale conflicts.
"We are very very optimistic about this fund," Donald Kaberuka, former Rwandan finance minister and supporter of the fund, told AFP.
He added that the fund had raised only $ 60 million (52.5 million euros) from African countries up to now, but that it was open to collaborations. with the private sector and other countries.
"Together, I think we will create a continent without conflict by 2020," he said.
– A more concentrated UA –
In 2016, the AU accused Kagame of having passed reforms, but observers say that time is running out because Egypt – which is about to assume the presidency – would have little interest in the program.
In the proposals unveiled last year, Kagame envisioned a narrower AU headed by a powerful commission whose bills would be covered by member states rather than by foreign donors.
However, the major African countries have reservations about the empowerment of a continental body that they believe could undermine their sovereignty.
Under cover of anonymity, an AU official downplayed the Egyptian opposition and asked AFP to wait for an agreement on reforms in the country. administration and funding of this body at the closing of the summit on Sunday.
"I think we have a 100% consensus on this," said the manager.
However, the reforms described by the manager were below Kagame's initial proposals.
While the Rwandan leader proposed to member states to elect a president who could then nominate his own deputies and commissioners, AU leaders rejected the proposal, the official said.
Kagame had also considered reducing AU's scope of action in order to focus on four areas: peace and security, economic integration, political affairs and global representations of the world. 39; Africa.
But instead, the AU will reduce its six commissions to six by merging four committees considered redundant, namely political affairs with peace and security, and trade and industry with economic affairs.
Meanwhile, 24 countries have progressed in the implementation of a 0.2% import tax to fund the union, said the official, despite the opposition of the two countries. United States, believing that it violates the rules of the World Trade Organization.
"We had a lot of challenges with the US on this for reasons that are not and we chose to ignore them, which they do not like," said the manager.
