A five-day workshop to review its organisation and structure kicked off in Douala, on March 23.

With the creation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 which was later transformed into the African Union (AU) in 2002, the continent has been evolving with a sustained demographic growth, an increase in the level of technology and changes in the socio-economic domains, necessitating the African Union Commission to rethink and review its operational models in order to meet up with the new challenges.

Going by AU’s Director of Administration and Human Resources Management, Amine Idriss Adoum, the current structure doesn’t match the new realities, reason why the Organisation has to start by reviewing the commission’s structure, then the organs after which ways to promote integration and relationships with the regional economic communities like CEMAC, ECOWAS and others will be looked into. To make the organisation more dynamic, effective and efficient, flexible, modern and realistic, the Commission designed and member States approved an Agenda 2063 which is currently working on a 10-year implementation plan.

To Amine Idriss, the challenges of Agenda 2063 and the 10-year implementation plan require new sets of organisational alignment and mindsets that will contribute to the realisation, hence a five-day brainstorming seminar to review its organisation and structure that kicked off in Douala, on March 23. Opening the conclave, the Secretary General at the Ministry of External Relations, Felix Mbayu, told participants representing the 54 member States that the results of the Douala meeting are awaited by member States who will like to see the central organ of the organisation contribute more efficiently and effectively to integration efforts and continent development. He enjoined them to reactivate the pan-African spirit spearheaded by Kwame Nkrumah during OAU’s creation in 1963 and ameliorate the functioning of AU by proposing practical solutions for the betterment of the continent.