Moussa Mahamat Faki’s tenure as the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson will be coming to an end in February 2025. He assumed the position in 2017 after edging out Kenya’s Amina Mohammed in a highly competitive race that saw the winner determined through seven rounds of voting. As he assumed office, Faki highlighted that his top priorities would be to implement structural reforms informed by Summit decisions and President Kagame’s reform report, to efficiently implement the continental vision (Agenda 2063), to work towards silencing the guns by 2020, to place women and youth at the center of Africa’s development agenda, to enhance intra-African trade, and to strengthen Africa’s voice in the global arena. Less than a month to the completion of his tenure, a general assessment reveals significant strides in the implementation of the AU structural reforms and enhancement of intra-African trade. Consequently, he has not been able to fully deliver on the remaining priority areas.
Implementation of structural reforms
After the adoption of Agenda 2063, the Assembly of Heads of State deemed it urgent to carry out institutional reforms which would enable the AU to effectively lead Africa to achieving the said vision. In July 2016, the Heads of State therefore mandated President Paul Kagame to lead the AU reform process. The outcome of the review process was the identification of five key areas which were considered central to the transformation of the union. The areas identified included; focusing on fewer priority areas with a continental scope, the need to review the structure and operations of the AU, the need to connect with African citizenry, the need to become operationally effective and efficient in the performance of its mandate as well as the need for sustainable financing for its programs. In line with the aforementioned, during Faki’s tenure, departments in the AUC were reduced from eight to six as a result of the implementation of the re-structure. Furthermore, the union conducted a skills audit and competency assessment in 2022, aimed at enhancing recruitment and promoting diversity. From the skills audit, the commission was able to identify an appropriate skill set that the union will require to achieve its vision. On matters sustainable finance, progress has been made albeit minimal. In 2016, the Summit adopted the Kigali Decision on Financing the Union, the latter aimed at reducing dependence on external partners. So far, the commission has been able to rally 16 countries into implementing the decision, with additional member states currently in the process of domesticating the decision.
Progress in other priority areas
In line with Faki’s stated priority of enhancing intra African trade, the commission has been able to rally member states to signing the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), which is a flagship project of the Agenda 2063. The trade agreement that came into force in 2021, commits signatories to removing tariffs on 90% of goods for other signatories, to progressively liberalize trade in services, to address other non-tariff barriers, boost cross-country investments, and to advance open visa policies. From the period 2021-2023, intra-African trade is projected to have recorded a progressive growth as a result of the implementation of the AfCFTA among other factors. Although sources differ on the exact percentage, the growth in intra-African trade is projected to be between 13-18 per cent.
With regards to the ‘silencing the guns initiative by 2020’, the commission has not achieved much as promised. When Faki assumed office, the continent had active conflicts in DRC, South Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and insurgencies in the Sahel. As he leaves office, the conflicts are still active and one more country (Sudan) joined the list after a power struggle between two generals culminated in an armed conflict. Despite that, the Union has an achievement of brokering the 2022 ceasefire in the Tigray region.
On the implementation of Agenda 2063, the commission has a low success rate. This could perhaps be attributed to the fact that commission which is tasked with implementing decisions, is heavily reliant of the goodwill of the member states to cooperate. According to the second continental report on the implementation of Agenda 2063, published by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), at the end of the first ten-year period (2014-2023), only ten countries (Rwanda, Ethiopia, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Algeria, Kenya and Mauritius) had been able to implement 50% or more of the goals stated in the vision. The commission has however been able to launch Agenda 2063 flagship projects such as the AfCFTA and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).
Finally, in strengthening Africa’s voice in the global arena, minimal progress has been made. A significant milestone was the organization of the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in 2023, which served as a platform for unifying Africa’s voice on the climate agenda.
Challenges faced during his tenure
Ensuring sustainable financing of the union has been a significant challenge. Despite having a relatively low budget, majority of the AU member states are not able to finance the operations of the union. On average, only 67 per cent of assessed contribution is collected annually from member states however, about 30-member states default either fully or partially. Another challenge has been the persistent coups especially in the Sahel which have greatly undermined democracy. The latter has led to the suspension of six-member states from the union due to unconstitutional changes in government. Besides the coups, the continent continues to suffer from several conflicts which negatively impact the lives of citizens and create a strain of the union’s resources.
The slow pace of implementation of reforms and decisions taken by other policy organs has equally been a challenge for the commission which is tasked to ensure implementation of decisions. The implementation of the Agenda 2063 and the Kigali decision are notable examples among the many that exist. Out of the 55-member states, only 38 submitted their reports on the implementation of Agenda 2063, a factor that makes it hard to gauge progress. On the Kigali Decision, despite the decision being adopted by the heads of State in 2016, seven years later, only 16 member-states have implemented the levy agreed upon. The aforementioned cases demonstrate the lacking political will in implementing decisions.
As the next AUC chair is set to be elected in February, he should have clear strategies on how to deal with active conflicts in the region, rally members to remit their contributions and seek political will to implement decisions that have been agreed upon by policy organs.
Photo Credits: African Union Media
Jeremy Oronje is a Research Assistant at the Horn Institute
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and they do not necessarily reflect the position of the HORN Institute.
