The ‘Kagame Reforms’ of the AU: Will they stick?

The paper evaluates the 'Kagame Reforms' of the African Union (AU), which aim to address bureaucratic inefficiency, funding shortages, and poor implementation of resolutions. While some structural changes have been adopted—such as reducing the number of AU commissioners and reforming summit schedules—the paper highlights significant resistance from member states, particularly within SADC and South Africa, regarding the 'Kaberuka Plan' for self-financing via an export levy. The authors argue that the long-term success of these reforms depends on overcoming national self-interest and surviving the transition of the AU presidency beyond 2019.

• The 'Kagame Report' proposed 19 recommendations (later expanded to 21) across six reform areas to address an 'inefficient bureaucracy, lack of implementation, funding shortages, overlapping institutional mandates and political battles'.
• The AU has achieved some structural successes in its institutional reform, including the decision to reduce the number of AU commissioners from eight to six by 2021 and the move to hold only one Ordinary Summit per year starting in 2019.
• The 'Kaberuka Plan', which proposes a 0.2% levy on eligible exports to ensure financial sustainability, has faced significant pushback; as of February 2018, only 12 member states had started implementing the levy, and none of the 16 SADC countries have implemented it.
• South Africa has specifically opposed the financing levy, arguing it conflicts with the national constitution regarding the National Revenue Fund and violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules by discriminating against non-African imports.
• The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is being transitioned into the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) to better integrate it into the AU Commission and resolve overlapping mandates.
• The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has seen its mandate expanded to oversee the monitoring and evaluation of the AU's Agenda 2063 and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and it now receives predictable funding from the AU Commission budget.
• There is a persistent tension between the goal of a professionalised, strong AU Commission and the desire of member states to maintain national sovereignty, with some SADC members fearing the AU's transformation into a 'supra-national organisation'.

APA

Turianskyi, Y., & Gruzd, S. (2019). The ‘Kagame Reforms’ of the AU: Will they stick? South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Occasional-Paper-299-Gruzd-Turianskyi.pdf

Chicago

Turianskyi, Yarik, and Steven Gruzd. The ‘Kagame Reforms’ of the AU: Will they stick? South African Institute of International Affairs, 2019. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Occasional-Paper-299-Gruzd-Turianskyi.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Turianskyi |first1=Yarik |last2=Gruzd |first2=Steven |title=The ‘Kagame Reforms’ of the AU: Will they stick? |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=July 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Occasional-Paper-299-Gruzd-Turianskyi.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{turianskyi2019kagame, author = {Turianskyi, Yarik and Gruzd, Steven}, title = {{The ‘Kagame Reforms’ of the AU: Will they stick?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Occasional-Paper-299-Gruzd-Turianskyi.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }