(5 minutes read)
· Chad’s Moussa Faki Mahamat was re-elected as the chairperson of the African Union Commission recently during the two-day summit
· Under new rules, a chairperson and deputy should be of opposite gender, which many point out as a supreme example of gender equality
· Managing growing conflicts in the continent will take fair share of the time of AU leadership and its secretariat
www.trendsnafrica.com has reported about the uncontested election of the re-election of ther head of the African Union Commission. Chad’s Moussa Faki Mahamat was re-elected as the chairperson of the African Union Commission recently during the two-day summit. He was the only contestant. Faki managed to get 51 votes out of 55 with three abstentions. His victory margin is the highest in the AU’s history and will have a Rwandan deputy banker, Dr Monique N Sanzabagwana
Interestingly, under new rules, a chairperson and deputy should be of opposite gender, which many point out as a supreme example of gender equality. As reported by various media, the two will have a tough task ahead especially when many African countries are now battling damaging second waves of Covid-19 pandemic and are under pressure to procure sufficient vaccine doses. Mass scale vaccination of the Africans would have to engage the attention of the African Union. For that, the multilateral body has to seek accommodation from the donor countries not alone for mobilizing resources but also for sourcing vaccines against the backdrop of the so-called vaccine nationalism. The South African President Cyril Ramphosa underscored the need for better access to loans on favorable terms despite the assistance from the IMF and World Bank.
Managing growing conflicts in the continent will take fair share of the time of AU leadership and its secretariat. New conflicts broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, which is posing a threat to the peace process and development of the entire Horn of Africa region. The Central African Republic (CAR) Lake Chad region, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon are also facing turmoil and are reporting loss of life and displacement. The negotiations among Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt over the US$4bn Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) project has resumed over the digital platform but a solution in the near future seems difficult. At the same time, Addis Ababa has threatened to begin the second stage of filling the dam in the coming months even without a deal. Both Egypt and Sudan have registered their strong protests against the unilateral decision.
The African Union Commission (AUC) is the AU’s secretariat for undertaking the day to day activities of the Union and is based in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The functions include representing the AU and defending its interests under the guidance of and as mandated by the Assembly and Executive Council. It initiates proposals to be submitted to the AU’s organs as well as implementing decisions taken by them and is the custodian of AU’s Constitution.
