Corruption, ICT and self-financing in focus at AU Summit

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The 30th African Union (AU) Summit kicks off in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Monday with a massive focus on the fight against corruption. While corruption will remain on center stage, self-financing of AU and a push for an ICT master plan for the continent will be the other two core topics at this year’s summit.

Other crucial topics to be raised as per the AU agenda for 2018 include: youth focus; migration concerns; gender equality strategy; job opportunities; single African air transport market; peaceful elections; end war; and Africa’s peace and security.

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The summit will start with the 35th Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives' Committee of the AU from Jan. 22 to 23, according to a press release by AU.

The meeting will prepare the agenda of the summit with recommendations for consideration by the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, scheduled from Jan. 25 to 26. The Executive Council meeting will be followed by the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the AU from Jan. 28 to 29.

African Anti-Corruption Year

The theme for the summit is "Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation," in line with the AU declaring 2018 as the “African Anti-Corruption Year.”

The theme for this year's AU summit is "Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation." /Photo via AU

“By declaring 2018 the African Anti-Corruption Year, the African Union (AU) policy-making organs have given a strong push forward in our collective efforts towards a peaceful and secure Africa… Indeed corruption kills”, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), stated in the introductory chapter of the concept note on the AU summit’s theme.

Mahamat had earlier highlighted the significance of a continent-wide anti-corruption drive in his New Year message. “As we work towards building stronger institutions and promoting prosperity, the fight against corruption assumes even greater importance and urgency. It is a well-recognized fact that corruption hinders efforts aimed at promoting democratic governance, socio-economic transformation and peace and security. It creates inequality in our societies and erodes the rule of law,” he said.

“While empirical evidence shows that Africa has made some encouraging steps in the last five years, huge challenges remain. In recognition of these, the African Union Assembly declared 2018 as the African Anti-Corruption Year (Project 2018), with the theme Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation,” he added.

Participants at the 10th AU Gender Pre-summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. /Photo via AU

Just ahead of the AU Summit, Addis Ababa hosted the 10th AU Gender Pre-summit last Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the impact of corruption on women’s empowerment and related issues. The event called on African women to join the fight against corruption on the continent.

Towards self-financing

Another key issue, and perhaps a thorny one, to be discussed at the AU summit would be to find a viable way to finance the organization itself.

Rwanda – which will take over the AU leadership from Guinea after the summit in Addis Ababa ends – is spearheading a financing reform proposal looking to transform the pan-African organization into a financially independent organization, reducing dependency on external partners and financial interests.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame speaks during a discussion on "Flagship Reforms for a More Effective African Union," at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, September 21, 2017. /VCG Photo

“The first pillar of the reform is to finance our activities ourselves. African Union programs are almost entirely financed by external partners. Africa’s interests and sense of ownership get lost, and the interests of donors could be better served as well,” Rwandan President Paul Kagame – who has been leading AU institutional reforms and will take charge as the AU Chairman on Jan. 30, 2018 – wrote in a piece for Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution.

Stating that the existing financing model is “unsustainable” for the AU, Kagama felt “it is reckless for Africa to rely so heavily on sources of funding that are likely to dry up sooner rather than later, especially when we have the means to pay for programs that are beneficial to us.”

A self-financing scheme adopted in June 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and July 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, has registered modest success with only 21 out of 55 countries having implemented it, according to Africa Report On Business. The scheme requires member states to levy a 0.2 percent tax on eligible imports to finance the AU.

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat attends a meeting at African Union Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on December 21, 2017. /VCG Photo

Earlier this month, Kagame and Mahamat met a group of experts who have been helping the Rwandan leader implement the reforms. “To date, member states have contributed 29.5 million US dollars to the peace fund, enabling us to fund some of our prevention and mediation activities,” Mahamat was quoted as saying after the Kigali meeting.

The two meetings in Kigali reviewed the progress of AU financing initiative which seeks to have member states raise at least 1.2 billion US dollars to fund AU activities and make the continental body less dependent on aid, the report further added.

“This strong momentum is solid evidence that there is political will to strengthen the capacity of the African Union, despite the complex politics involved in coordinating among more than 50 member states,” Kagama said in his piece.

“The shift to self-financing has had another important consequence: increased attention to the efficiency and performance of the African Union Commission and associated organs. After all, when you’re spending your own money, you want to make sure it’s being used well,” he added.

ICT masterplan

The summit is also expected to endorse a renewed push by African countries to rapidly spread high-speed Internet to accelerate economic development in the continent, according to a report published by South Africa Gazette.

The AU summit in Addis Ababa is expected to discuss and approve the resolutions of an AU Specialised Technical Committee on Communication and ICT (information and communication technology). The Specialised Technical Committee held its session in November 2017, to discuss an ICT master plan for Africa, which is focusing on using ICT as a development tool, the report said.

The summit is expected to endorse a renewed push by African countries to rapidly spread high-speed Internet to accelerate economic development in the continent. /VCG Photo

The key issues of discussion at the ICT ministerial meeting were the implementation of the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) with a specific focus on how African countries could work with UN agencies to implement specific ICT initiatives. The AU is proposing that each African country should be connected to at least two different under-sea cables and the landlocked countries should also have alternative routes to the coastline. The ICT programs being pursued under PIDA also include access to a national and regional Internet Exchange Point, the report added.

African countries currently spend 65 million US dollars every year to connect computer users in Africa to Internet exchanges in London, money which could be shared within the African countries, the Gazette quoted Moctar Yedaly, Head of Information Society Division at the AUC, as saying.

The AU internet master plan seeks the commitment of the ministers of ICT to work together with transport and energy ministers to ensure that ICT ducts or fiber are deployed on regional infrastructure. The AUC is also seeking the harmonization of the radio spectrum in Africa, with the aim of ensuring that Africa’s emerging markets use ICT to advance economic growth, the report said.

The African Union is a continental organization comprising all of Africa’s 55 countries. It was founded on May 26, 2001, in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to replace the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and looks to foster political and economic unity among all its members.

[Cover photo: African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. /VCG ]

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