President William Ruto has appealed to African countries to support reform of the African Union.

The President, who is also the AU Champion for Institutional Reform, chaired the African Union Institutional Reform Ad Hoc Committee Meeting of Heads of State in Luanda, Angola, on Tuesday.

The meeting focused on eight priority areas of the reform agenda in line with Assembly of Heads of State Decision 920, which aims to make the AU fit for purpose.

The President reiterated that reform of the AU is an urgent and necessary step to ensure it elevates the African voice and agenda effectively.

He noted that without meaningful change, the AU risks becoming ineffective, which would cost the continent far more in lost opportunity and diminished influence.

“This reform is doable. It is possible and necessary to have an effective African Union, and we can do it within the shortest time possible while carrying everyone on board,” he said.

To make the reform process inclusive, President Ruto said a summit of Heads of State will be held at which they will contribute their perspectives and help shape a stronger and more responsive Union.

As the champion of the reform agenda, the President said wanted the recommendations to reflect the total position of all African States.

He called on Member States to read the detailed report and submit written feedback to the AU secretariat.

“This will ensure that by the February summit, we will have a document that carries the input of heads of State of member countries,” he said.

He asked Member States not to allow the excuse of the cost of reform to derail the process, noting that some decisions did not require funding to be implemented.

The eight priority areas in the report are the revitalisation of the peace and security architecture, financing, operationalisation of the African Court of Justice, and streamlining of the AU agenda format.

Others are the revamping of the Pan-African Parliament, categorisation of decisions, division of labour, and restructuring of the remaining AU organs, institutions and offices.

“These recommendations form a coherent road-map for a stronger, more effective and more responsive African Union, fit to advance Agenda 2063 and meet the demands of our rapidly changing world,” he said.

The report calls for a unified Peace and Security Architecture that merges it with the African Governance Architecture to strengthen crisis prevention and governance oversight.

It further proposes stronger and more predictable financing for the Union, anchored in strict budget rules and full adoption of the import levy.

The document also proposes the operationalisation of the African Court of Justice by speeding up ratification of pending legal instruments.

It recommends a streamlined AU Assembly agenda to sharpen focus and improve decision making.

Additionally, the report pushes for a stronger Pan African Parliament by more ratifications of the Malabo Protocol to grant it limited legislative powers.

At the same time, the report introduces a clear classification of AU decisions into binding and non binding categories to support better compliance.

It emphasises the need to finalise the division of labour exercise in order to strengthen coordination across the Union, regional organisations and Member States.

Furthermore, the report calls for restructuring of AU organs and institutions to create a leaner and more efficient system.

Africa Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said the AUC is committed to realising the African Union reforms.

He commended President Ruto for championing the reforms, noting that he had shown sustained commitment to seeing the process through.