NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Three African politicians seeking to lead the African Union laid out their plans Friday for regional security amid conflict and political coups, while making a strong case for intra-Africa trade, among other things.
Raila Odinga of Kenya, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar are seeking to be elected president of the African Union, which consists of 55 member states.
They took part in a two-hour debate in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday, during which they all called for two permanent seats for African countries on the UN Security Council to effectively represent the continent with the youngest population.
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Odinga said two permanent seats with veto power were “a must for Africa” and that this was “only fair” as the continent has more than 50 countries.
Randriamandrato urged member states to miss this opportunity and “speak with one voice on the choice of who will represent Africa in the UN Security Council.”
The three are trying to convince most African countries before February elections to succeed Moussa Faki, president of the African Union, who has served two terms.
The African Union has faced several challenges, including conflicts in member states and political coups, with five member states expelled from the union. Regional security has therefore become an important theme in Friday’s debate.
Youssouf said regional security could be improved if resources for a regional preparedness force were increased to reduce over-reliance on foreign partnerships for resources.
“If there is no unity of purpose among neighboring countries, peace will be at risk,” Youseff said.
Randriamandrato encouraged countries to take charge of their internal security, while warning that foreign military bases “should be a thing of the past” because they “could be a source of conflict.”
Despite the continent’s young population of 1.3 billion, which is expected to double by 2050, regional trade has faced challenges that were highlighted in Friday’s debate.
Odinga said Africa has a “huge domestic market” that it can use for economic transformation by creating opportunities for trade between African countries.
Youssouf proposed a payment compensation system that would ensure countries do not lose out if they trade in different currencies, adding: “if we get a single currency, why not?”
Randriamandrato said regional economic blocs such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa have a big role to play in easing trade between Africa.
The African Union has proposed several reforms to its structure and leadership aimed at achieving its goal, and all candidates pledged to implement the reforms if elected.
Youssouf said major reforms in the union were facing a funding bottleneck and that “it has to change”, adding that he would not impose this on member states but “advocate for it”.
