Chad has given forth the new chair of the African Union Commission. One Moussa Faki Mahamat, the country’s Foreign Minister, and a former Prime Minister.
Faki has edged out Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Amina Mohamed, who was widely believed in some quarters to be the frontrunner. Top Kenyan government officials went all out to campaign and lobby for Amina to get the job; a campaign that cost the Kenyan taxpayer some Ksh. 350 million was launched. Mr. Faki was chosen as the African Union (AU) chair after a meeting with representatives from the 54 African member states at a summit held at the organization’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Upon the confirmation of his victory to become the chair of the African Union, Faki reiterated his commitment to steer Africa through economic development and attainment of security. Faki says development and security at the top of his list of agendas for Africa.
On the security front, Faki comes with much experience as he has been at the forefront in the fight against the Islamist militants causing havoc in Nigeria, Mali, and the Sahel.
Before his election, in an interview, he had with Radio France International last week. Faki said that the AU needed a strong leadership from a leader who could “refocus on the basics.” He pointed out the fact that since the passing of 1,800 resolutions back in 2022, the AU has only implemented just 15% of the said resolutions.
During his campaign, Faki said he has a dream for Africa, where the “sound of guns will be drowned out by cultural songs and rumbling factories.” Faki pledged to work hard in streamlining AU over the four-year duration of his term in office.
Faki takes over from South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, whose term in office has been extended for an extra six months. The extension came about as a result of failure by the member states to pick a new candidate in July 2016, when her term in office was to come to an end.
This week on Monday, Dlamini-Zuma shared her view on the new American President Donald Trump executive orders banning traveler into the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries. African countries within Trump’s list are Sudan, Somalia, and Libya.
“We are entering very turbulent times,” Dlamini-Zuma told leaders attending the AU summit in Addis Ababa. “The very country to which many of our people were taken as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade has now decided to ban refugees from some of our countries. What do we do about this? Indeed, this is one of the greatest challenges to our unity and solidarity.”