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Takunda Mawodza
THE African Union must fund itself through mobilisation of continental resources and avoid reliance on partners. This was said by AU chairperson President Mugabe while officially opening the 25th AU Summit here yester- day.

The call by the AU and Sadc chair was also echoed by the African Union Commission chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and South African President Jacob Zuma earlier in their addresses.

“You will recall that at our last assembly, we directed that the First 10-Year Implementation Plan, our first concrete step to actualise Agenda 2063, be developed for our consideration. Our Assembly will have an opportunity to deliberate on this important mat- ter.

“Without pre-empting that discussion the people of Africa must continue to own Agenda 2063 and all its plans. To that end, we have to endeavour to avail the requisite technical, financial, human, material and other resources for the implementation of this African blueprint,” said President Mugabe.

He added: “The decision we took at the last assembly on alternative sources of funding is of paramount importance in this regard. We need to see greater efforts towards funding our operations and thus ensure ownership of our organisation and its programmes.”

In his welcoming remarks, President Zuma also stressed the need for the AU to have “sustainable and predictable sources of funding” and avoid overdependency on foreign sources.

President Zuma also underscored the need for Africa to learn to manage its conflicts without the involvement of its partners.

This was echoed by the African Union Commission chairperson Dr Dlamini- Zuma.

“We can find solutions to our challenges …We must believe in ourselves, adopt the right policies, manage our diversity,” she said. “We must speed up our integration, our unity. Africa must unite or perish.”

Dr Dlamini-Zuma said the AU must start funding itself by January next year.

Meanwhile, President Mugabe said there was need to tap the potential of Africa’s bountiful natural resources and leverage them for social and economic transformation.

He reiterated the need for Africa to industrialise, beneficiate and add value to its raw materials moving away from export of its natural resources in raw form.

President Mugabe said while Africa was rising, this positive narrative was severely battered by terrorist attacks against innocent citizens including women and children by terrorist groupings like ISIS in Libya, Al-Shabaab in Kenya, Boko Haram in Nigeria and other countries like Lake Chad Basin Commission that were also Africa’s hotspots.

He said terrorism had to be defeated through collective efforts.

President Mugabe challenged the AU to ensure full implementation of peace, security and cooperation framework for the DRC and the region.

“The fratricidal conflict in Libya, South Sudan as well as the peace process in the Central African Republic are issues that our Union should continue to be fully seized with.”