Kenyan President, William Ruto has called for a financial reform of the African Union with a focus on the body’s fiscal autonomy.
Ruto, who has been vocal about Africa’s financial posture in the international community and multilateral bodies, made the call on Sunday at the AU’s fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (MYCM), currently in Gigiri, Nairobi County.
The MYCM, which replaced the June and July summits, was envisioned in 2017 as the main platform for the AU, RECs, RMs, and member states to align their activities and coordinate the implementation of the continental integration agenda.
Also in attendance were the AU’s Chair, Azali Assoumani, President of Comoros, Bola Tinubu (Nigeria), Abdel Fattah (Egypt), Macky Sall (Senegal), Ismail Guelleh (Djibouti), and Ali Bongo (Gabon), among others.
The summit, which is aimed, among other things, at addressing critical issues of African integration and division of labour was led by the Kenyan President.
“The pan-African movement has always been about sovereignty and agency,” Ruto said.
“First and foremost, chronic dependence, even on well-meaning partners, is inconsistent with the aspiration of independence, sovereignty, and agency. And I therefore believe that we must take seriously the recommendations that have been made towards making our organization an organization that stands on its feet, and an organization that is funded by us.”
The AU is largely funded by its member states and international partners. The AU reports that less than 40% of member states pay their yearly contributions to the institution.
A document on its website shows that “38% is to be assessed on Member states, while 61% will be from partners. The operating budget will be fully funded by Member States, while the programme budget will be funded 41% by Member States and 59% by international partners.”