President John Dramani Mahama has called on the African Union (AU) to address bureaucratic inefficiencies and enhance its decision-making processes to better respond to Africa's challenges.Speaking at a High-Level Retreat on African Union Institutional Reforms held at Kenya’s State House in Nairobi, Mahama emphasized the need for the AU to evolve into a more agile, efficient, and impactful institution.

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“The African Union must evolve to become more agile, efficient, and impactful in addressing these new challenges. The AU must streamline its decision-making processes to ensure that they are timely and results-oriented,” Mahama said.He highlighted that bureaucratic inefficiencies and overlapping mandates within the AU undermine the confidence of African citizens and international partners.

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“Bureaucratic inefficiencies undermine the confidence of our citizens and international partners. Overlapping roles hinder effective decision-making. By streamlining AU commissions, clarifying roles, and eliminating redundancies, we can establish a more agile organization better equipped to address the evolving needs of our continent,” Mahama explained.

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The retreat provided a platform for leaders to deliberate on institutional reforms needed to strengthen the AU's governance and operational efficiency."Africa's future lies in its youth because over 60% of our population is under the age of 25 and yet their voices are largely absent in policymaking.

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""We must institutionalise framework that allow our young people and women to lead at all levels of governance and I am happy to report that the last election in Ghana's history, we elected a woman as our Vice President," he stated.

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The President also stressed that streamlining the AU's structures would not only improve operational efficiency but also position the union to tackle emerging challenges such as climate change, conflict resolution, and economic development.Mahama’s remarks align with ongoing efforts to reform the AU, including enhancing its governance structures and redefining the roles of its various organs and commissions.

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