The African Union and Development in Africa

Abstract

The current development initiative by the African apex Organization African Union (AU) has been declared ‘the New African Renaissance’. This paper traces the origin and meaning of African Renaissance and argues that OAU/AU is yet to frame its development model on the principle of African Renaissance, which is, “Africa utilizing its resources and values to build the continent and its people”. This ideal resonates with the homegrown approach to development. This paper explores the extent to which the AU impacts development trajectories of Africa through its narrative of African Renaissance. Thus, the thesis of this paper is that instead of the externally driven prescriptive development frameworks, the AU could make more impact by taking control of development framing for the continent, with proper mechanisms which individual countries could relate with and adapt to suit their own conditions. This is with the recognition that the commitment of African leaders remains the most pressing obstacle to the formation of a collective strategy for a new African Renaissance.

Keywords: new African renaissance, OAU/AU, African Union, development