By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
African leaders elected Djibouti’s foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf to become the next leader of the African Union (AU) Commission in a secret ballot.
Youssouf defeated Raila Odinga, a former prime minister of Kenya, and Richard Randriamandrato, an ex-foreign minister of Madagascar, in a vote at the AU summit in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.
The AU has 55 member states. Presidents or heads of government pick the commission’s leader, who is effectively the chief executive of the Addis Ababa-based secretariat running the AU.
Youssouf will serve a four-year term, replaces Moussa Faki of Chad, who has held the post since 2017.
He has been foreign minister since 2005. He was previously Djibouti’s ambassador to Egypt and has served as foreign minister in the governments of three presidents.
He said that as commission chairman, “peace and security” would be his priority.
He will have to grapple with the devastating conflicts in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, as well as huge development aid cuts launched by US President Donald Trump.
Much of the continent has been left reeling by the move to cut funding for the USAID agency, with experts warning it would hobble humanitarian work in Africa.
Meanwhile President Cyril Ramaphosa said the African Union Summit has delivered a leadership that will respond to challenges facing the continent.
Ramaphosa was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the summit.
“We have secured a good outcome at this AU Summit with the installation of the new leadership and we are consolidating the African Union towards unity and cooperation on the continent.”
The 38th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly began this Saturday, centred on the theme “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”
Angolan President João Lourenço was elected as the new AU Chairperson, succeeding Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. The summit highlighted the importance of addressing historical injustices and fostering unity across the continent.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley addressed the Assembly, stressing the need for global solidarity and the pursuit of reparations for Africans and the diaspora.