African leaders discuss new funding proposals today

African Heads of state and Government are today set to discuss ways to reduce reliance on donors to fund African Union’s activities, particularly peacekeeping missions. Several Heads of State and Government have already arrived in Kigali for the 27th African Union Summit, which will also be attended by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who arrived in the country yesterday. Erastus Mwencha, the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, said yesterday that at least 30 Heads of State, who had confirmed their attendance, will examine recommendations contained in a report already endorsed by African finance and foreign affairs ministers – on the funding issue. A technical team of high-profile personalities, including former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and former African Development Bank President and Rwanda’s post-Genocide finance minister Dr Donald Kaberuka, played a key part in drafting the report. The leaders will be looking at how resource mobilization can be integrated in the continent’s highly touted Agenda 2063. “Under Agenda 2063, we are going beyond implementation of programmes that are decided by Heads of State and Government and come up with initiatives that can be jointly implemented by states through regional blocs,” Mwencha told journalists at the Kigali Convention Centre. He added: “We are carrying out projects such as rail, energy, aviation, which require resources to develop from banks and through joint implementation.” Mwencha cited hospitality, communication, and aviation among the priority areas highlighted in the report to the Heads of State and Government. “Tomorrow [today], with the support of Donald Kaberuka, former President of the African Development Bank, the Heads of State and Government will be looking at ways to implement the agreed proposals while reviewing the experiences that have been gained,” he added. The AU is looking to increased contributions from the bloc’s 54 member states as one of the sources of domestically generated funds to run its operations. Other proposed sources of funding include creation of investment projects, Pan-African banks, pension funds, foreign remittances, and reviewing the tax regimes of African countries. Of the $416.9-million budget for the African Union for 2016, only about $170 million was secured from member states, with the rest coming from international partners, according to South Africa-based Southern African Legal and Information Institute. Also on the agenda of the closed door session of the African leaders is how to respond to crises on the continent. Mwencha said interventions in conflict zones have hitherto been requiring the approval of the United Nations but this might not always be the case if the continent had adequate resources of its own to ably respond to crises on its soil. AU largely relies on the UN and Western donors to fund its peacekeeping operations. The continent has however moved closer to taking a bolder role in peacekeeping efforts in recent years, with a standby force already in place. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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African leaders discuss new funding proposals today