admin
As it evolves to the level of its equivalents on other continents, the African Union needs to have more functioning organs to facilitate implementation of its objectives and resolutions. Apart from the more well known AU Commission and the assembly, the continental bloc has other less known official organs such as the African Parliament that sits in South Africa, the African Central Bank, African Investment Bank and African Court of Justice and Human Rights. The last three are not operational yet. The Peace and Security Council, another organ, is already in place, but still lacks a mechanism to implement its mandate. It must have under it, the African Standby Force (ASF), a 25,000 strong multi-disciplinary peacekeeping force with military, police and civilian contingents to help it perform its activities.
These are critical arms of the AU that are designed to give the organisation greater on-the-ground relevance. Through them, the bloc would be able to more effectively implement its objectives and resolutions.
African leaders have the political will to have an established continental union and are working hard to achieve this, but there is that ever-present challenge — lack of money.
We recall that at their summit early this year, African leaders decried the fact that 72 percent of the commission’s budget of about $500 million was funded by foreigners while AU members struggle to raise the remainder. In addition to the $500 million, the AU has to source $750 million for peacekeeping operations from the European Union, America and China.
With much drive from President Robert Mugabe, the incumbent AU chairman, the summit discussed a number of strategies to ensure that Africa funds the commission’s budget, or at least contribute more than foreigners.
At the 8th ordinary meeting of the AU Ministers of Defence, Peace and Security in Victoria Falls this week, Head of AU Peace Support Operations, Sivuyile Bam reported that the ASF required $1 billion to be operational.
That is a big sum of money for a continent that is already failing to fund its commission. However, that will not stop us from demanding that AU member states should work and think harder to find ways to finance the ASF through contributions from their respective budgets or come up with other innovative local strategies to do the same.
“They say he who pays the piper calls the tune,” Bam warned. “It’s the same with partners. They have got funding conditionalities and they need us to meet certain requirements because they are coming in with the funds. Sometimes those conditions do not sit well with the need and requirements of our forces on the ground.”
Under the alternative funding model, African leaders agreed to consider a proposal for the introduction of a tourism tax on foreigners visiting the continent. They agreed to impose a $10 surcharge on airfare per passenger travelling out of Africa and a tourism tax of $2 per stay per person in a hotel within the continent.
International Air Transport Association data shows that Africa has 294 million air passengers annually. If the air levy is imposed on each traveller, the AU would collect $2.9 billion yearly. UN World Tourism Organisation figures for 2014 indicate that Africa received 56 million visitors. If each of the visitors spent just one night in a hotel, the sector’s contribution to the AU would amount to $112 million. At least $3 billion would be raised through the air and hotel levies, a substantial sum of money generated from just one financing option.
It goes without saying that the tax would make African tourism destinations more expensive but the proposal is worth implementing. We are confident that any serious tourist will not consider himself to have toured the world if he has not sampled the adventure options, nature and pristine environment that only Africa provides. There could be initial resistance, but with time, foreigners would get used to paying the tax.
Apart from taxing foreign tourists, there is a suggestion to introduce a telecommunications levy. It entails an extra charge on all telecommunications made on the continent. This is a more domestic proposal which can work too considering the centrality of communication to human existence and the exponential growth of mobile phone and internet usage in Africa.
However, the new funding model should go with the traditional, direct annual allocations made by the AU’s 54 members through their budgets.
More funding initiatives can, and must be explored and implemented. Africa cannot entrust its security, peace, independence and sovereignty with Europe and America, for these donors don’t always mean well. They always want to be in control and much of the control now is exercised through so-called development assistance. They can help in other less important sectors, but not on our security.
Online Reporter