AFRICAN UNION DANCING TO OUTSIDE BACKERS’ TUNE?

The African Union can always be “told to dance” by outsiders - so long as the bulk of its funding comes from them. That’s the view of Dr. Alfred Mutua, Kenya's former Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Minister, who thinks it’s high time the 55-member bloc danced to its own tune - and not to that of China, or of the EU, the UK and the US, who collectively bankroll some 60% of the AU’s funds.

Dr. Mutua acknowledges that Africa does indeed need external support, but argues it should never be the main budgetary crutch if we are to be truly in control of our own destinies.

In 2016, the 27th African Union summit in Kigali, Rwanda, initiated financial reforms to raise contributions from all 55 member states. In a statement on its website, the AU admits that it is "currently not financed in a predictable, sustainable, equitable or accountable manner" and that "more than 40% of member states do not pay their yearly contributions."