Operational Effectiveness and Efficiency

There is a need to manage the business of the AU efficiently and effectively, at both political and operational levels

On political management of the Union the AU is recommended to:

Reform the working methods of the Summit (Ensuring AU Summit Assembly session, which is attended by the Heads of State and Government has an agenda of no more than three (3) strategic items at each Summit and review the frequency (The Assembly to hold (1) one Ordinary Summit per year, and extraordinary sessions to be held as the need arises;
Determine the appropriate African representation at Partnership Summits and partnership Summits convened by external parties should be reviewed with a view to providing an effective framework for African Union partnerships and prioritising Africa’s development agenda
Establish a troika of the outgoing, current, and incoming AU chairpersons (To ensure continuity and effective implementation of Assembly decisions, a troika arrangement between the outgoing, the current, and the incoming AU Chairpersons should be established. In this regard, the incoming chairperson shall be selected one year in advance
Strengthen and enforce the current sanctions mechanism. This would include consideration of making participation in the AU deliberations contingent on adherence to Summit decisions.

On operational management of the Union it is recommended to:

Enhance the process for selecting the Commission Chairperson i.e.the election of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission should be enhanced by a robust, merit-based, and transparent selection process.
Recruit the Commission Deputy Chair and Commissioners competitively recruited in line with best practice and appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission, to whom they should be directly accountable, taking into account gender and regional diversity, amongst other relevant considerations.
Reframe the role of Deputy Chairperson and potentially change the titles of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson

Review of structure, staffing needs and conditions of service of the Commission should be undertaken to ensure alignment with agreed priority areas.

Agenda 2063

Flagship Projects

Integrated High Speed Train Network

Connecting African capitals and commercial centers through a High-Speed Train Network; facilitating the movement of goods, factor services and people as well as reducing transport costs and relieving congestion of current and future systems through increased rail connectivity.

African Commodities Strategy

Transforming Africa from a raw materials supplier by enabling countries to add value, extract higher rents from commodities, integrate into global value chains promote diversification anchored in value addition and local content development.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.

The African Passport & Free Movement of People

Removing restrictions on Africans’ ability to travel, work and live within their own continent by transforming restrictive laws and promoting visa free travel to enhance movement of all African citizens in all African countries.

Silencing the Guns by 2020

Ending all wars, civil conflicts, gender-based violence, violent conflicts and preventing genocide in the continent by 2020.

The Grand Inga Dam Project

Generating an estimated 43,200MW of power to support current regional power pools and their combined service to transform Africa from traditional to modern sources of energy and ensure access to clean and affordable electricity.

Single African Air-Transport Market

Promoting intra-regional connectivity between the capital cities of Africa by creating a single unified air transport market in Africa, as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration and growth agenda.

African Economic Forum

Multi-stakeholder meeting bringing together the Africa’s policy makers, private sector, academia and civil society to reflect on accelerating Africa’s socio- economic development and transformation by harnessing its vast resources.

African Financial Institutions

Accelerating integration and economic development through the establishment of organisations which will play a pivotal role in the mobilization of resources and management of the African financial sector.

The Pan African e-Network

Transforming Africa into an e-Society by implementing policies and strategies that lead to transformative e-applications and services in Africa such as broad band terrestrial infrastructure, cyber security and revolutionary bio and nanotechnology industries.

Africa Outer Space Strategy

Strengthening Africa’s use of outer space to bolster development in critical sectors such as agriculture, disaster management, remote sensing, climate forecast, banking and finance, defense and security.

African Virtual & e-University

Using ICT based programmes to increase access to tertiary and continuing education in Africa by reaching large numbers of students and professionals in multiple sites simultaneously.

Cyber Security

Incorporating emerging technologies in Africa’s development plans and ensuring these technologies are used for the benefit of African individuals, institutions and nation states by ensuring data protection and safety online.

Great African Museum

Preserving and promoting African cultural heritage by creating awareness of Africa’s vast, dynamic and diverse cultural artefacts and Africa’s continuing influence on world cultures in art, music, language, science, and so on.

Encyclopaedia Africana

Provide an authoritative resource on the authentic history of Africa and African life.

NOW

Related Content

Agenda 2063

Key Resources