Southern Africa has endorsed Botswana Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi as its candidate to contest elections to choose a new chairperson for the African Union (AU) Commission.
This follows an announcement by incumbent AU Commission chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma that she will not seek re-election when her first term of office comes to an end in June.
Dlamini-Zuma, who was a Southern African Development Community (SADC)-sponsored candidate when she etched her name in history books after becoming the first southern African to head the AU Commission in 2012, has decided against seeking another term, and is expected to re-join active politics in South Africa.
As per the AU Commission Constitution, a chairperson could serve for two four-year terms.
Meeting in Gaborone, Botswana in late March, SADC foreign affairs ministers said the region is determined to retain the AU Commission chair.
The ministers from the 10 SADC member states that make up the AU Southern African region – Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe – agreed that Venson-Moitoi be the SADC-sponsored candidate for the post of AU Commission chairperson.
The other five SADC countries belong to other regions of the AU. These are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and the United Republic of Tanzania.The AU is divided into five regions, central, east, north, south, and west.
The SADC ministers have since mandated the SADC Secretariat with support from Botswana and SADC diplomatic missions accredited in Ethiopia to formulate a strategy and develop an effective campaign in support of the candidature of Venson-Moitoi.
Venson-Moitoi is a respected and skilled administrator who has served in various capacities in the Botswana government, including as Minister of Works, Transport and Communications, as well as Minister of Trade, Industry, Wildlife and Tourism.
A former journalist, she has also served as Minister of Communications, Science, and Technology, and Minister of Education.
Venson-Moitoi was selected as the sole SADC-sponsored candidate ahead off two other candidates from Malawi and South Africa.
Elections for the AU Commission chairperson are set for June at the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State Government of the AU scheduled for Kigali, Rwanda.
Venson-Moitoi could face stiff competition from other regions.
The AU legal department is finalizing the compilation of the list of candidates for the post of AU Commission chairperson.
However, reports indicate that Algerian Foreign Affairs Minister Ramtane Lamamra is among those also vying for the post.
Lamamra previously served two terms as AU Peace and Security Commissioner.
Venson-Moitoi has expressed confidence in winning the elections and promises to vigorously push forward Africa’s continental integration agenda.
“I am convinced that together we can build a stronger, more coherent and more effective and results-oriented AU, and present it as a high-performance organisation,” she told journalists at a recent press conference to announce her nomination as the SADC candidate for the post.
“As chairperson of the Commission, I will provide the necessary guidance for programme formulation and prioritization, driving the formulation of the strategic plan of the organisation.”
The AU Commission chairperson is responsible for the running and delivery of the AU agenda aimed at advancing greater continental integration for a more prosperous Africa.
The AU Commission comprises the chairperson, deputy chairperson and eight commissioners responsible for peace and security; political affairs; trade and industry; infrastructure and energy; social affairs; rural economy and agriculture; human resources, science and technology; and economic affairs.
In the last AU Commission chairperson elections, Dr. Dlamini-Zuma defeated Jean Ping from Gabon after a closely contested poll that saw several rounds of voting failing to provide an ultimate winner.
Dr Dlamini-Zuma became the first southern African, and first woman, to head the AU Commission since the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) – predecessor to the AU – in 1963.
Other regions in Africa have previously had their candidates occupying the top AU post. sardc.net
