Message Of Chairperson Of The African Union Commission

My fellow citizens and friends of Africa,

On behalf of the African Union Commission, the African Union Organs and Specialized Agencies, I congratulate you for completing the First Decade of Agenda 2063. We have realised significant achievements and learned several lessons over the first decade of Agenda 2063. These have provided the requisite impetus for designing the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan. The first decade of Agenda 2063 implementation was one of convergence around many common positions – starting with a unified resolve among all AU Member States to have one development blueprint by a series of Ten-Year Plans. The decade of acceleration is also pertinent to scaling up development efforts.

I am very proud of the staff across the AU Organs and Specialized Agencies, partners, and citizens, who have worked tirelessly to deliver “The Africa We Want”. The ongoing reforms within the Union entities provide us with greater assurance of improved delivery and better development outcomes. I am also proud of the strategic partners who have worked with us to formulate the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan. I want to specifically mention the African Development Bank (AfDB), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who have been with us throughout this journey, seconding their staff to the AU Technical Working Group (TWG) to implement the Special Project.

We learned of the need to invest in a few Moonshot interventions, pathways and enablers to achieve a set of ambitions within each decade. That is why, in the second decade, we have made a deliberate choice to focus our efforts on delivering seven Moonshots, namely:

• Moonshot 1: Every AU Member State attains at least middle-income status.
• Moonshot 2: Africa is more integrated and connected.
• Moonshot 3: Public institutions are more responsive.
• Moonshot 4: Africa resolves conflicts amicably
• Moonshot 5: African culture, values are explicit and promoted.
• Moonshot 6: African citizens are more empowered and more productive.
• Moonshot 7: Africa is a strong and an influential global player.

We should refocus our energies on these Moonshots for the next decade. It will be a worthwhile effort even as we work towards realising the aspirations of the African people.

From the design and implementation of the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan, we have learnt that the Plan needs to be costed, adequately resourced, and its implementation monitored, accompanied by solid mechanisms and incentives for corrective action and enforcement.

Furthermore, domestication and awareness-raising among citizens will remain critical for deepening ownership and responsibility among all sections of the African society. Equally important is the need to build resilience measures within the implementation architecture to insulate the gains of the continent against shocks. These lessons, amongst others, have informed the Plan’s design for the second decade.

I want to thank Excellencies, the Heads of State and Government of all AU Member States for their unwavering guidance and support in implementing Africa’s development blueprint. I also wish to extend my gratitude to His Excellency António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

We recently renewed the commitment for implementing the AU Agenda 2063 and the UN Agenda 2030. We are committed to the principle of “Two Agendas, One Plan” in whatever we do.

I count on you for your continued engagement.

Thank you.