Mohamed is the right candidate for African Union job

Kenya's Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed. FILE PHOTO |

What you need to know:

  • The AU needs a person who will not only iron out the continent’s security and political issues, but also set the stage for political, social, and economic transformation and stronger intra-African trade.
  • Ms Mohamed has been able to reboot Kenya’s global image from one bedevilled by threats of sanctions to a preferred destination for global trade and investment conferences and foreign direct investments.
  • She supports the revolution of infrastructure in Africa by creating seamless connections through land, air and sea.
  • Throughout her career, Ms Mohamed has demonstrated solid leadership and proven negotiation.

The African Union is set to elect a new chairperson in January 2017. The AU needs a person who will not only iron out the continent’s security and political issues, but more significantly, set the stage for political, social, and economic transformation and stronger intra-African trade.

Ms Amina Chawahir Mohamed, Kenya’s nominee and the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, has the right set of credentials to get the job done.

What Ms Mohamed has done for Kenya, she can replicate for Africa. In less than four years, Ms Mohamed has been able to reboot Kenya’s global image from one bedevilled by threats of sanctions to a preferred destination for global trade and investment conferences and foreign direct investments.

The strong investor confidence in Kenya is a function of the assertive and proactive economic diplomacy that Ms Mohamed has championed at the helm of the Foreign Affairs docket.

She has been able to re-write the international narrative about Kenya, amplifying its role as an unparalleled regional hub for conferencing, trade, investment and innovation.

The numerous global summits held in Kenya speak to the success of Ms Mohamed’s diplomatic approach that has remodelled diplomatic engagement and made economic payout the basis of foreign policy.

According to Africa’s blueprint for development — Agenda 2063 — The Future We Want for Africa — and an Africa destined for greatness, Africa needs Ms Mohamed’s brand of leadership.

This is because many of the continent’s challenges, including the social and political ones, have economic doldrums as their genesis.

Addressing key economic planks such as youth unemployment and the potential of agriculture as the economic lifeline for Africa, Ms Mohamed’s vision offers the key for unlocking Africa’s vast potential, underscoring the importance of an AU leadership that will emphasise the need for stronger intra-Africa trade and investment through strong regional economic blocs as the key to broader continental integration.

Ms Mohamed supports the revolution of infrastructure in Africa by creating seamless connections through land, air and sea.

According to Ms Mohamed, “the path for our continental growth and prosperity is no longer an aspiration but an unfolding reality because with gathering force, the ground has shifted and Africa today epitomises hope and opportunity’’.

Under her leadership, Africa will utilise the current momentum to secure its rightful place in the community of nations and a reformed United Nations.

It is instrumental that more than half of Africa’s leaders believe Ms Mohamed fits this profile. She has been endorsed by 25 African countries, including the 19-member Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Other African leaders who have pledged their support include Faure Gnassingbé (Togo), Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (Mali), Alpha Condé (Guinea), John Dramani Mahama (Ghana), Idriss Déby (Chad) Alassane Ouattara (Ivory Coast), Denis Sassou Nguesso (Congo Brazaville), and Abdelmalek Sellal of Algeria.

Throughout her career, Ms Mohamed has demonstrated solid leadership and proven negotiation.

Dr Gaya is chairman, Media Owners Association, and a former chairman of Brand Kenya. [email protected].