ODINGA BIDS FOR AU TOP POST, MEETS ED

President Mnangagwa yesterday met Kenyan opposition leader, Mr Raila Odinga, who was seeking Zimbabwe’s support for his candidature for the position of African Union Commission chairperson.

Mr Odinga is one of the three candidates in the race to succeed the incumbent, Mr Moussa Faki, who has held the position since 2017.

Other candidates for the AU Commission chairperson are Djibouti Foreign Affairs Minister Tahtoud Ali Youssof and Somalia’s Fawzia Yusuf Adam.

Speaking after meeting President Mnangagwa at State House in Harare, Mr Odinga expressed hope that Zimbabwe and the rest of the SADC region would support his bid for the top AU post.

“I have come to announce (my candidature) and to also ask for support from Zimbabwe and SADC by extension. I am happy to have been received very well by the President,” he said.

Posting on his X handle later yesterday, Mr Odinga said: “We landed in Harare, Zimbabwe today to a warm reception courtesy of H.E President Emmerson Mnangagwa @edmnangagwa

“It’s been a pleasure sharing with the President my vision for Africa and discussing my candidature for the AUC Chairmanship.”

President Mnangagwa is presently the SADC Chairperson, and it was fitting that Mr Odinga would visit Harare, as he seeks support from the entire regional bloc.

The African Union (AU) unanimously agreed in March to grant the Eastern Africa region the right to nominate the next chairperson of the AU Commission.

This decision marks the culmination of institutional reforms launched in November 2018.

The AU Assembly aims to bolster transparency and meritocracy in the leadership selection process, prioritising equitable regional representation, gender parity, and recruitment of top talent from across the African continent.

Mr Odinga said he had been touring many countries in Africa to garner support for his candidature and after Zimbabwe, he will visit other Southern Africa countries.

He stressed that African countries are facing similar challenges that should be tackled collectively.

“We have shared experiences with other nations, we know where we are coming from, where we want to go. But Africa will only be developed by Africans themselves. We must have a clear roadmap and blueprint on how to develop Africa.

“We have 55 States in Africa, we are looking at how these countries can be integrated so that we benefit from the resources that we have in our continent,” said Mr Odinga.

He added that the continent has a young population, which could drive transformation of the continent.

The new AU Commission chair will be elected by the AU Assembly via a secret ballot on February 25 at the 38th AU Summit set for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Past chairpersons of the AU Commission have come from the AU’s western, central and southern regions, hence the AU Executive Council’s intervention to assert the right of the East African region to produce the next chairperson while North Africa will fill the deputy chairperson’s post.

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