The extraordinary summit of the African Union closed today (Sunday) with several key reform decisions adopted in efforts aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the regional body.
The African Union had been accused of being bloated and ineffective with numerous cases of duplication and overlap in addition to wastage in its operation.
At the just-concluded summit, 4 key decisions were taken that are expected to change the impact of the organisation.
This follows one of the early reforms by Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the outgoing chair of the African Union before Egypt takes the reins to wean the union away from donor funding to self-funding.
It was also decided that the selection of top leadership would be strictly competency based with the organization no possessing new rationalized portfolios that will put an end to the notorious issue of overlapping and duplicated mandates.
Furthermore, new administrative reforms aimed at streamlining operations at the African UNION shall be instituted, including the African Peer Review Mechanism which has now been integrated into the AU budget.
The summit also adopted the mandate of the new African union development agency or NPAD which will build upon the achievement of the NEPAD agency with a new focus on implementation of continental projects and the offering of policy advice to member states.
It is the dying days of the tenure of Paul Kagame at the helm of the African union, an organisation that has long suffered the criticism of stagnating bureaucracy and ineffective decisions.
Kagame was put in charge of the organisation with the brief to institute key reforms that will transform the organisation from a toothless dog to an effective and efficient body.
