The work of the high-level meeting of the committee of fifteen finance ministers (F15) of the African Union (AU), opened on Monday in Rabat with the participation of ministers, experts and representatives of continental bodies.
Speaking on the occasion, Economy and Finance Minister Nadia Fettah called for “ rethinking the funding model » of the African Union, with a view to being able ” stay focus “.
” Rethinking the financing model of our Union is urgently needed if we want to stay on course with the objective that we have set ourselves since 2015 in Johannesburg, for sustainable, predictable, equitable and responsible financing of the African Union”, did she say.
And to underline in this sense that beyond its direct impact on African economies, the current crisis, due to its unequaled scale and unpredictable duration, “ could jeopardize the financial viability of our great institutional family, the African Union”.
For the Minister, this retreat is an opportunity for the Committee and all of its members to reiterate their commitment to the reforms initiated by the Kigali Decision, aimed at promoting a budgetary and financial culture based on the principles of good governance. and accountability within the Union.
It is also an opportunity, she continued, to commend the sustained efforts deployed by the AU Commission, which have enabled significant progress in the implementation of institutional reforms in its most important components. , such as the establishment of a technological platform guaranteeing greater transparency in the recruitment processes of the Union’s staff and the respect of all the golden rules in the preparation of the 2022 budget.
The F15 Committee, she said, strongly committed to the momentum of the budgetary and financial reforms launched by the AU in recent years, is undoubtedly the best placed body to formulate a global vision on the way forward, to provide concrete responses to the challenges of financing the Union.
The minister also welcomed the choice of the Kingdom to host this ministerial retreat of the F15 Committee, the first for more than two years.
“We see it as a much appreciated recognition of the efforts made by our country and its commitment to the African Union in recent years. This choice also reflects the confidence that our African partners place in the Kingdom of Morocco, which has always made South-South cooperation with other African countries a strategic choice, supported by the leadership of King Mohammed VI, and based on a global vision. and balanced development of our continent,” she noted.
For her part, the Vice-President of the AU Commission, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, noted that the outbreak of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis have exacerbated the challenges facing the African continent, which today finds itself facing an inflationary spiral whose escape route is difficult to see in the short term.
This same crisis could, by its gravity, call into question the financial viability of the AU, hence the need to develop a set of golden rules that establish clear principles for the financial management of the Union, in addition design innovative recovery strategies, she stressed.
It should be noted that this conclave, held under the theme ” Beyond the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Ukrainian Conflict: Strengthening the Resilience of African Economies and the Financial Sustainability of the African Union”, will focus in particular on post-Covid-19, the Ukrainian crisis and economic recovery, the financial viability of the AU as well as the performance of the F15.
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