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AU nations aspire to cover all operational costs: official

Xinhua, January 28, 2017 Adjust font size:

African leaders have agreed to achieve 100 percent of all operational budget in the next five years, said Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission Erastus Mwencha.

AU heads of states have agreed that, during the next five years, AU must strive to achieve at least 100 percent of all operational budget, 75 percent program budget, and 25 percent of all peace and security operations, said Mwencha.

Financing of the Union is a historic decision adopted by African heads of state and government in a "Retreat on Financing of the Union" during the 27th African Union Summit held in Kigali on July 2016.

The decision mainly aims to provide reliable and predictable funding for continental peace and security through the Peace Fund; to provide an equitable and predictable source of financing for the Union.

It also aims to reduce dependency on partner funds for implementation of continental development and integration programs; and to relieve the pressure on national treasuries with respect to meeting national obligations for payment of assessed contributions of the Union.

"There is an imperative for the union to be able to secure reliable resources for financing our programs," said the deputy chairperson.

On average, 67 percent of assessed contribution is collected annually from member states and about 30 member states default. This creates a significant funding gap between planned budget and actual funding, which hinders effective delivery of the African Union's agenda, it was indicated.

The decision, which will enter into operations for each member states from January 2017, directs all AU member states to implement a 0.2 percent levy on eligible imports from non-member countries to finance the Union.

"If you apply the 0.2 percent on all imports into Africa, you would be able to collect at least 1.2 billion (U.S. dollars)," he said.

He also noted that ministers of finance of AU member states, after series of meetings, "have come up with clear guidelines on how to implement the decision."

According to the deputy chairperson, some member countries, including Kenya, Rwanda, Chad, Ethiopia and Republic of Congo, have already initiated actions to implement the decision.

Speaking about the extent of external dependency, particularly in the area of development, he said that the Union has the dependency of up to 95 percent.

Currently five countries contribute 75 percent of the total budget of the union, according to the deputy chairperson. Endit