Africa is gearing up to a new African Union Chairperson come 2025 when Moussa Faki Mahamat will be concluding his two terms.
Raila Odinga is among the potential candidates on the continent who have shown interest in the post.
Details indicate Odinga will pocket Ksh.2.4 million if confirmed as AU Chair. This is the same salary Faki has been earning since 2017.
The AUC Chairperson is also entitled to a monthly rental rate of Ksh.933,000 ($6,000) which will include rent and payment of utilities such as electricity.
The Union also pays 100% fees for the Chairperson’s dependent children studying in Africa and any other part of the world save for Europe and North America.
His wife will also receive a stipend on monthly basis
AU Chair also serves as the Chief Executive Officer, Legal Representative and Chief Accounting Officer of the AU.
AU Chair Responsibilities
The main responsibility of the holder of the lucrative post is to be the administrator and enforcer of the AU. He will also be tasked with preparing the budget of the Union which runs to billions of shillings.
On the diplomatic front, the Chairperson is mandated to champion AU’s objectives and interests in the global arena. Therefore, the holder of the office is required to attend various continental engagements including summits such as the US-Africa summit and Italy-Africa summit among others.
Whereas Odinga might have qualifications for the post, it requires intense lobbying from various states across the continent.
He will also need the blessings of a sitting president from his country, and in this case, President William Ruto.
Odinga Meets Ruto and Museveni
On Monday, Raila was pictured having a dialogue with President Ruto.
Also Read: Odinga withdraws his Ksh.1 million dinner
They were pictured at Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s home in Kampala. Details of their meeting remain scanty.
Odinga has already received endorsement from former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“I have no doubt that my friend is a viable candidate but subject to views, feelings, positions and presentations of our leaders in the East Africa sub-region,” he said.
“Not too long ago we had Southern Africa, one occupying the seat now is Central Africa. Before that, we had West Africa,” he explained.
Kenya’s former president Uhuru Kenyatta is also expected to front Odinga for the AU post.
Odinga, Kenya’s opposition leader is not a new subject matter to the AU.
In October 2018 following the harshly contested 2017 general election, former President Kenyatta fronted Odinga as the High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa.
Odinga’s appointment was part of the African Union’s drive to expedite the integration of the continent through infrastructure, to promote economic growth and sustainable development.
The decision by the AU was against the backdrop of the then-renewed efforts as exemplified by the adoption, in March of 2018 in Kigali, of the Agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and the African Passport, as well as by the launching of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), in Addis Ababa in January 2018.
