Africa's chance to redefine itself after getting new AUC chairman

Last month, Africa’s leaders met in Addis Ababa to elect the African Union Commission chairperson. This decision will shape the institution’s leadership, though the role has gradually lost influence, drifting from the vision of the continent’s founders.

At the same time, few Africans feel connected to the AU or its daily impact. However, this offers Africa a chance to harness global change and redefine the Union’s relevance to Africa’s people. As Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the new AU chairperson, takes the helm, a critical process must focus on establishing robust internal funding mechanisms.

Historically, many African nations have relied heavily on external funding to support development, often aligning with donor preferences that may not fully address local needs. Reducing this dependency is essential for strengthening Africa’s autonomy. One of the AU’s recurring weaknesses is the gap between policy development and implementation. Past leadership has endorsed progressive frameworks like Agenda 2063 and the AU Peace and Security Architecture, but follow-through has been weak. The chairperson should strengthen the AU’s institutional mechanisms by creating monitoring and accountability frameworks that track country-level execution of AU policies and encouraging the African Peer Review Mechanism to be more action-oriented, with follow-ups on governance commitments.

Young people make up to 70 per cent of Africa’s population but remain underrepresented in decision-making. To ensure youth inclusion, it is important to push for youth quotas in AU and national governance structures, ensuring meaningful political participation. Expanding the AU Youth Envoy’s role to directly influence key policy decisions will also be crucial.

The new AU leadership must carry forward these lessons and apply them to Africa’s most pressing global challenges, particularly climate change. Despite contributing less than 4 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa faces the harshest consequences—from prolonged droughts in the Sahel and Southern Africa to catastrophic floods all across East, West, and Central Africa. These climate shocks threaten lives, food security, and economic stability, yet global climate negotiations have consistently failed Africa.

As recently as the last global Climate COP in November of 2024, commitments made by wealthier nations to support Africa’s adaptation and mitigation efforts have remained largely unmet, with delays, shifting goalposts, and vague pledges becoming the norm.

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The lack of decisive action has left African nations to navigate the drivers and impacts of climate change with limited resources, despite the continent’s urgent need for climate resilience. This once again presents an opportunity for Africa to move beyond waiting for external aid and instead champion its own climate agenda—prioritising investment in nature-based solutions, renewable energy, and homegrown strategies that ensure sustainable development while protecting ecosystems and livelihoods. This should define Africa’s approach at the G20 Summit in South Africa this year. The summit is a vital platform for African leaders to highlight the continent’s needs and offer African-led solutions to the linked crises of debt, financing, and climate change.

Africa has long been sidelined in global discussions, despite facing crises it did not cause. By framing Africa’s challenges as opportunities for global collaboration and investment, the AU leadership can ensure that the continent is not just present at the table but is actively shaping the global agenda. Fragmented markets and reliance on Western trade have hindered Africa’s growth. The African Continental Free Trade Area provides a platform for self-sustaining economies, improved regional supply chains, and a shift from raw material exports to value addition.

The new chairperson will also need to face the continent’s security challenges. Various insecurity issues persist across regions, driven by competition for dwindling natural resources. Solutions to these conflicts are within reach. Cross-border collaborations on conservation and sustainable resource management can play a part in resolving these issues.