Kenya has backed a plan to make the African Union pay its own way. Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi announced Kenya's support on Friday in Accra, Ghana, Capital FM reported. He spoke at an Extraordinary Session of the AU Executive Council and Ministers of Finance. He endorsed Option C, a financing framework meant to make the AU financially sustainable and more accountable in how it spends its money.
Mudavadi was representing President William Ruto, the AU Champion for Institutional Reform. Treasury CS John Mbadi also attended. According to Capital FM, his presence showed that Kenya wants its diplomatic position to match the financial and budget questions behind the reforms.
The plan rests on four pillars: focusing on high-impact programmes, consolidating budget planning, raising more money within Africa and running AU institutions more efficiently. Its central feature is a 0.2 per cent levy on eligible imports. The levy would give the AU a predictable source of income. The framework also proposes a $1 billion AU Peace Fund endowment, topped up regularly, to pay for peace and security operations.
Mudavadi said the continent's ability to fund its own institutions is central to its political and economic independence. He argued that reliance on outside donors weakens the AU's ability to act on its own decisions. It also hampers Agenda 2063, the AU's long-term development blueprint. "Africa must have the means to finance the Africa it envisions," he said.
He also said the AU should spend on programmes that deliver measurable benefits to African citizens, rather than spread its budget across competing priorities. Kenya supports a consolidated budget built on a medium-term expenditure plan. It also wants duplicated roles inside the AU cut. Mudavadi warned that higher contributions must come with transparency, accountability and value for money.
Kenya also backs a structured partnership between the AU and the African Association of Multilateral Financial Institutions to raise capital within the continent. Mudavadi cited less predictable foreign aid, debt risks and geopolitical uncertainty as reasons to move quickly. He urged member states not to let differences in their economies derail the effort.
The push follows earlier commitments, including Johannesburg Decision 578 and Kigali Decision 605, which aimed to raise member states' contributions. Mudavadi admitted that those targets remain largely unmet. The Accra talks are expected to produce recommendations for heads of state. They will consider them at the 40th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly in January 2027.