AU currently heavily relies on donor funding at 91 per cent. Member States contribute only 9 per cent of the budget needed to carry out its activities. This has a bearing on its independence.
In absence of a platform like CEP and other avenues for citizen participation, it would act as a stumbling block in the quest to achieve Africa’s future, one that rest with its estimated 1.3 billion people.
The diplomats tackled a wide range of issues from security, cooperation with regard recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis, and the push to have African countries halt oil purchases from Russia.
