President John Mahama has advocated for the African Union’s (AU) financial independence.

This, the President underscored was necessary to ensure that the Continental body was free from overreliance on external funding.

President Mahama appealed in his address at the opening of the special meeting of the AU’s Heads of State and Governments in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kenyan President William Ruto is chairing the two-day as the Chair of the AU Institutional Reforms.

The Nairobi meeting is expected to provide a roadmap for the acceleration of radical changes in AU.

President Mahama said implementing the Kigali decision on financing the union must be expedited.

The Kigali Decision on Financing the Union is a decision made by the AU in July 2016 to establish a levy on imported goods to fund the AU.

He also advocated for principles on how AU member states conduct their affairs, ensuring that their policies and programmes translate into real change for their people; saying “We must adopt a mechanism that prioritises accountability, transparency and value for money, ensuring that every resource is maximised for the benefit of the African people”.

President Mahama said one of the pillars of reforms was the AU’s financial autonomy, the over-reliance on external partners for funding compromises the organisation’s independence for funding and ability to set its own agenda.

He called for empowering youth and women in leadership roles at all levels of governance.

“Africa’s future lies in its youth, and over 60 per cent of our population is under the age of 25. Yet, their voices are largely absent in policymaking,” President Mahama said.

“We must institutionalize frameworks that empower our young people and women to lead at all levels of governance.”