On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, a panel discussion was held at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, titled "Ten Years of the African Union's Agenda 2063: Achievements and Failures." The discussion was moderated by Dr. Hala El-Rashidi, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Law and Director of the Center for Political Research and Studies. Hosting Dr. Mohamed Ashour Mahdy, Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of African Studies, Cairo University, and Ambassador Nader Fath El-Alim Ser El-Khatem, Head of the African Union Permanent Mission to the Arab League.
Dr. Hala El-Rashidi began by thanking the attendees and then introduced a speech by Prof. Dr. Hanan Mohamed Ali, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, who also expressed gratitude to the attendees and welcomed Dr. Ali El-Din Helal, Professor of Political Science and former Minister of Youth, and Ambassador Laila Bahaa. She mentioned the late Dr. Abdel-Malek Awda, former Dean of the Faculty, who had a research chair named in his honor through the collaboration between the faculty and the Kemet Botros Ghali Foundation for Knowledge and Peace. She also highlighted the chair’s activities, which include organizing seminars, events, and competitions in the field of African studies, overseen by Dr. Ali El-Din Helal and Dr. Hala El-Rashidi.
Ten years after the adoption of the 2063 Agenda, launched by the African Union during the 50th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, the agenda carries the slogan "The Africa We Want." The agenda aims to address many goals, including eradicating poverty, achieving sustainable development, and ensuring justice. This led to the need to study the achievements and identify the obstacles faced in achieving the goals and the ways to overcome them.
Dr. Mohamed Ashour Mahdy discussed the evaluation of the decade-long plan of the agenda. His presentation answered the following questions: What is the agenda? Why the agenda? How the agenda? And where is the agenda headed?
The agenda is a 50-year developmental strategy that began in 2018 and will continue until 2063. It is divided into five phases: the first decade (2014-2023), the second (2024-2033), the third, fourth, and fifth phases, each ten years. The agenda was created to address the challenges faced by previous experiments in African and to continue successes achieved by some of them.
Dr. Mahdy outlined the seven aspirations of the agenda: a prosperous Africa, a politically integrated and united continent, good governance and democracy, peace and security, shared cultural identity and common values, citizen-led leadership, and empowering Africa to play a key global role. Based on these aspirations, twenty goals were set, with twelve programs and projects designed to drive the achievement of these goals and hence the strategy. The goals were highly ambitious, such as the creation of a virtual African university, silencing the guns, and developing an African space strategy, and other ambitious goals.
Four indicators were set to evaluate the first decade's plan: alignment, relevance, effectiveness, and intensity. As for the level of alignment, the goals and programs were in line with the national development plan. However, in terms of responding to the specificity of each country, there was weakness, as the plan was framed in a general manner that did not consider the specificities of some countries. This explains the performance disparities between the North and South on one hand, and between the East and West on the other. Regarding the alignment between the agenda's goals and other strategies, the goals were in harmony with the Sustainable Development Goals and the five priorities outlined in the African Development Bank Group's program. The criteria set for efficiency were weak. Overall, the results related to effectiveness showed that ten indicators were achieved beyond expectations, particularly in areas such as free trade, enhancing infrastructure, and increasing awareness of the agenda at the political level. Thirty indicators showed good performance, particularly in health, nutrition, education, technology, and some aspects of security and peace. Sixteen indicators showed weak performance, and three indicators showed negative performance, such as silencing the guns in Africa, climate change, natural resource management, poverty, and inequality.
Dr. Mahdy ended his speech by stating that ten years was not enough to judge the agenda’s success, as some objectives require longer periods to be fully realized.
Ambassador Nader Fath El-Alim started by thanking the attendees and then took the audience on a journey discussing the practical side of implementing the agenda. He explained the seven aspirations of the agenda and stated that it was built on two key principles: helping African countries emerge from colonialism and achieving minimal economic integration. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) helping to implement free trade effectively. He also emphasized the importance of avoiding Western-imposed terms, such as "sub-Saharan" and "North of the Sahara," stating that Africa is one entity and should be treated as such. One of the goals of the 2018 agenda was freedom of movement, with the ambition to achieve a unified African passport that would allow its holders to enter many African countries without a visa, which is part of the African integration programs.
One of the key goals of the agenda in 2018 was the freedom of movement, with the ambition to create a unified African passport that would allow its holders to travel freely across many African countries without a visa. He also discussed good governance and democracy, as well as the imposition of sanctions on countries that violate constitutional systems, such as through unconstitutional changes.
He then continued his discussion on agricultural programs, which aim to prevent the export of raw African materials and instead use them for manufacturing. Africa produces sixty-five percent of the world's raw cocoa but does not produce chocolate, produces more than seventy percent of rubber but does not make tires, and produces over eighty percent of Arabic gum, which is used in more than ninety percent of industries worldwide, yet Africa lacks its own industries. He added that the longevity of nations is not measured in years but in generations; ten years mean nothing. The Africa we want extends to 2063 for two reasons: the first is the youth, as the agenda relies on them for its implementation, and strengthening the youth is one of the strongest programs. The second reason is advocating for women, as women are the backbone of this continent. He ended his speech by wishing us a successful journey with Africa, one that will not end until the desired hopes are achieved.
Dr. Hala then opened the floor for questions, and one of the main questions was about whether there are internships for youth in the African Union. The question was answered by the Ambassador, who pointed out that there is indeed a program for youth called "Youth Volunteer," but it is for graduates, not students. When asked why, despite having raw materials, Africa does not produce, Ambassador Nader Fath Al-Aleem responded that Africa does produce, but it lacks the production mechanisms that would lead the continent to prosperity. Additionally, it cannot produce with the same quality as Western countries, and he called for encouraging African-made products.
Dr. Hala El-Rashidi then thanked the attendees and concluded the session.