The challenges awaiting the new AU Commission head are many and varied.
African leaders meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa on Sunday July 15 for the two-day 19th ordinary session of the Summit of African Union, elected a new Chairperson for the AU Commission. After four rounds of voting, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma took the day; becoming the first ever woman and person from southern Africa to hold the position.
An earlier attempt last January to elect a chair for the continental body ended in deadlock after member States failed to reach a consensus between outgoing Jean Ping of Gabon and Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who is South Africa's Home Affairs Minister.
Unity
The rancorous abortive election of last January left the AU divided. Reconciling the body and forging ahead as a united front is not expected to be easy for the new AU Commission Chair. Understandably, it would take long for the wounds to heal.
Conflicts
Another issue is the manner in which the Ivorian and Libyan crises were handled. While the West under the guise of the ‘international community’ pushed through its candidates for regime change, a divided Africa watched rather helplessly. In the end, both Laurent Gbabgo and Col. Muammar Kaddafi were successfully eased out of power. Gbagbo was later thrown into jail and Kaddafi brutally murdered without anyone raising a finger. Moreover, the AU is yet to decisively tackle ongoing conflicts in Mali, Guinea Bissau, Somalia, Western Sahara and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Funding
The greatest challenge to the AU today is perhaps financial. Most member States do not pay their dues regularly. In the past, the late Col. Kaddafi took upon himself to pay for several countries to keep the organisation afloat. Now that he is no more, it is hard to see how these member countries can resume regular contributions. Similarly, the idea of an African Monetary Fund – another project so dear to Kaddafi - to reduce the continent’s dependence on foreign funding for its activities, is still on the drawing board.
Regional Integration
Added to this is regional economic integration that ought to have taken roots at sub-regional levels. While some progress has been made in West Africa in terms of freedom of movement of goods and services, getting a common passport and currency, the rate of economic integration in Central Africa is rather slow with common projects like the CEMAC airline and stock exchange still to see the light of day.
Stalled Projects
The much-taunted New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD for promoting good governance on the continent is almost as good as dead today; with its founding fathers like former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa no longer around. With reported-two thirds of AU’s funding coming from outside Africa, the organisation’s room for manoevre is truly restricted. Any hope therefore of an immediate turnaround of the AU under Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma might be nothing but a tall order.
Kimeng Hilton NDUKONG
