Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has pledged to reform the African Union Commission (AUC) into a driving force for Africa’s growth and economic advancement.
Speaking in Addis Ababa on Friday while launching his bid for the AUC chairmanship, Raila promised a departure from the routine and vowed to bring a fresh, actionable approach to African leadership.
“My leadership at the AUC will not be of the same rhetoric where people meet a few times in a year and return to the enclaves. My leadership will be pegged on the dreams of our forefathers, who expected that by now, Africa would by now roar in one united voice,” he said.
“Every year, there is a General Assembly here. Jets come and land and then there will be a lot of talk in the halls where resolutions are passed and off, people leave.” Raila added.
Backing his candidature, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi led a high-profile Kenyan delegation at the event. Mudavadi assured African nations that Raila was highly qualified for the role and highlighted his extensive Pan-African and global experience.
“Kenya is offering a lifelong Pan-Africanist, an accomplished global statesman who has demonstrated exceptional and visionary leadership. There is much that our continent can utilize from such an elaborate experience,” Mudavadi said.
He added that Raila has inherent capabilities to amplify the voice and bargaining power of the African continent.
“He has always offered his peace-making skills to national and regional peace and security initiatives. Notably, Raila’s strategic patience has fortified him as a peacemaker who has often foregone personal interests to achieve national and regional unity and stability,” he stated.
He recalled that Raila served the AU as the High Representative on Infrastructure Development in Africa, from 2018 to 2023.
