UC, EC review implementation of 2010 annual work plan on €55M support program

The African Union Commission (AUC) and European Union (EU) Delegation to the African Union (AU) on Tuesday 7th June 2011 came up with a set of recommendations (2011 Action Plan) that portrays key priority and intervention areas that would be implemented during the fiscal year and beyond. 

The strategic partners were reviewing their joint programs during the 3rd annual review meeting of the Euro 55Million Support Program that was held from 6 to 7 June 2011 at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  

The purpose of the meeting was to assess the results achieved from the implementation of the  2010 Annual Work Plan which was aligned to the AUC Strategic Plan (2009 – 2012) with four main pillars namely: (i) Peace and Security (ii) Development, Cooperation, and Regional Integration (iii) Shared Values and iv) the Institutional Strengthening. In line with this, result based presentations were made on the overall goal of those programmes, level of implementation and challenges faced. Also concerned departments of the AUC shed light on the progress of work of the 2011 Annual Work Plan.

Participants were drawn from implementing departments of the African Union Commission, the coordinating department – Strategic Policy Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Resource Mobilization, IBAR office, other AU Organs and the European Union Delegation. The meaningful participation of other partners namely Spain, GIZ, and Sweden enhanced coherence.

Group discussions and debates were main elements of that review exercise. Discussions were made on cross cutting issues such as ineligible costs, fund absorption capacity, better programming, and other pertinent issues categorized in three areas specifically on planning and programming, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of programmes. In this regard, groups came up with summary of expectations, challenges and recommendations that would be annexed to the 2011 Action Plan. 

Highlights from the 2011 Action Plan include:

·         The AUC was urged to organize training on result oriented planning and reporting;

·         It was agreed that AUC should review and address the recommendations of the Audit 2008-09;

·         It was agreed that the EU should launch external audit of the year 2010, amongst others.

In conclusion, the meeting considered and adopted a new action plan. It also proposed October or November as the date for the next review meeting. It is worth recalling that a Contribution Agreement for a grant of European Commission (EC) Support Programme covering the period 2007 - 2011, was signed between the African Union Commission and the EC on 12 January 2007 aiming at AU playing its role and strengthening partnership between the two partners.

This EU grant constitutes the first multi-annual support Programme to the AU including the Commission of African Union as well as three other AU Organs [the Pan African Parliament (PAP), the

African Court

on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).  Given that the grant was not absorbed as anticipated, it was then extended for 24 additional months until the end of 2013.