During the Mo Ibrahim Foundation African Leadership Ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya’s President William Ruto remarked that he supports an end to the practice of flying 54 African presidents around the world to attend meetings and conferences.
President Ruto stated that these African leaders are frequently mistreated and are even placed into school buses like children during their travels. Instead, he proposed that the African Union’s chair represent them at such gatherings.
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Photo: President William Samoei Ruto (Facebook)“It is not going to be business as usual. If we have these meetings: Africa-US, Africa-Europe, Africa-Turkey, Africa-India, Africa-Russia, Africa-Japan, we have made the decision that it is not intelligent for 54 of us (Heads of State) to go and sit before one gentleman from another place,” he said.
In his address, he advocated that Africa should take a more pragmatic approach to governance, focusing on problem solving rather than symbolic gestures, saying that traveling leaders from one country to another for meetings and summits is frequently an expensive and inefficient endeavor.
He contended that virtual meetings and conferences would be far more practicable and cost-effective for African countries. This would save money, time, and resources that might be used to better the lives of people across the continent.
Those supporting the idea said that the African Union chair is better suited to represent African leaders at these sessions because the chair has a greater awareness of the continent’s challenges.
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However, some have expressed reservations about the concept, claiming that it will reduce African leaders’ influence in global affairs. They suggest that African leaders should attend these meetings to ensure that their opinions are heard and their problems are addressed.
They further claim that having the African Union chair represent all African leaders is impractical since the chair may not comprehend the specific issues that individual countries face.
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In 2018 former Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba called on African leaders to explore hosting virtual discussions rather than flying to summits. He suggested that doing so would assist to lower the price of these trips and the burden on African countries’ resources.
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