Audit of the african union original: English the high level panel

FOREWORD

1. 
   The setting up of an independent High Level Panel of the Audit of the African Union by the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union to undertake an audit review of the state of the union is a most historic initiative. It demonstrates the vision, courage and foresight of African leaders. Its wide and comprehensive terms of reference are symptomatic of the psychological paradigm shift that has occurred insofar as achieving the political and socio-economic unification of Africa is concerned. The desire to accelerate and fast track the process has become real and urgent. By taking this historic step to undertake a systematic examination and self-assessment of the performance of the African Union, African leaders have reasserted their collective self-reliance and have, once again, concretised the claim of Africa to own the twenty-first century.
   

2. 
   The Panel very much appreciates that it has been called upon to be part of this historic development. In order to convince the sceptics that there is indeed a determination for Africa to own the twenty-first century, the recommendations that have emerged from this historic audit are intended to revamp the Organs and Institutions of the Union so as to foster African unity and fast-track the political and economic process. The Panel, therefore, urges that they must be implemented fully and without delay. The Panel has been left in no doubt that this is indeed the intention of the Union Assembly. In this connection, the Panel sincerely hopes that its recommendation that the audit should from now on be undertaken every five years will be endorsed by the Assembly and implemented so that in 2012 another audit review will take place. By internalising periodic audit reviews, African leaders will show beyond doubt their conviction that the deliverance of Africa will not come from outside the continent but from within.
   

3. 
   The idea that somehow Africa’s deliverance from political fragmentation, socio-economic underdevelopment, poverty and disease, etc, will come from outside the continent has become so ingrained in official and public discourse that the decision that this audit review should be undertaken has come as a surprise to many, in and outside Africa. However, it has been widely welcomed by millions of the peoples of Africa because it portends a great future and a greater tomorrow. What remains now, in order that the sceptics and the cynics can be silenced permanently, is to embark immediately on the implementation of the recommendations.
   

4. 
   The Panel strongly urges that the implementation should also be inclusive and engage all the actors at all levels -continental, regional and national. By so doing, the ownership of the process would remain African.
   

5. 
   Finally, it is encouraging to note that, as stated in the Accra Declaration, there is a consensus that the ultimate objective of the African Union is the establishment of a Union Government. To assist in the monitoring of the progress in the march towards unification, benchmarks have been provided. They will serve as both a radar of hope and the barometer of progress.
   

6. 
   Without doubt, the transformation process needs to be accelerated most urgently, and this will not happen by chance. To join the rich world and do away with the toga of dependency, political, structural and economic transformation must take place. There must be a de-construction of the inherited political and economic architecture to make way for the constitution of a new indigenous socio-economic order based on the three pillars of the democratisation of the political and development process, national and continental collective self-reliance and the restitution of an African indigenous social democratic order. Without this, the promotion of African solidarity and acceptance of the oneness of the African humanity will be impossible to achieve. If the African Union that we seek is to become a reality, it must be a union of the peoples of Africa and not just a union of African States and Governments.
   

7. 
   Once again, my colleagues and I feel greatly honoured that we have been called upon to undertake this historic audit review and would like to place on record our sincere appreciation for the cooperation that we have received from the Chairperson of the Commission and all his colleagues and members of the staff. We are also grateful for the cooperation of all the Organs and the persons we have interacted with. Above all, we express, through the Chairperson of the Assembly, H.E John Agyekum Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana, our sincere appreciation to the Assembly for the confidence and trust placed in us.
   

Long Live Africa!

Table 2: Performance of Member States on Assessed Contributions

Table 3: Sanctioned Member States

Table 4: Sessions of the African Union Executive Council

Table 5 The Staff Gender Profile of the AU

Table 6: Gender Profile Categorised by Grade

Table 7: Citation of the AU in the Mass Media

Table 8: Citation of Members of the Commission in the Mass Media

Table 9: Status of Submission of State Reports to the ACHPR

Table 10: The RECs Recognised by the AU

Table 11: Other Regional Entities

Table 12: Organs and Institutions Of RECs

Table14: Membership of States in the various Regional Economic Communities and other Entities

Table 15: Summary of the Approved Budget of the African Union

Table 16 Summary of the Peace Fund (Off Budget)

Table 17: AU Income Realisation (in US$ '000s)

Table 18: Expenditures on Travel within the AUC