Magaliesburg, South Africa, January 11, 2019 – Following the Eleventh Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in November 2018, where the decision was taken that NEPAD shall henceforth be renamed African Union Development Agency/NEPAD (AUDA/NEPAD), the Agency’s staff convened in Magaliesburg, South Africa, between 8 – 11 January 2019, to draft its business plan.

The rationale behind the establishment of the African Union Development Agency is that it shall be a vehicle for the better execution of the African Union Agenda 2063.

In this regard, the mandate of the AUDA/NEPAD is:

(i) To coordinate and execute priority regional and continental projects to promote regional integration towards the accelerated realisation of Agenda 2063;

(ii) To strengthen capacity of African Union Member States and regional bodies; advance knowledge-based advisory support, undertake the full range of resource mobilisation, and serve as the continent’s technical interface with all Africa’s development stakeholders and development partners.

“The transformation from NEPAD Agency to the African Union Development Agency will be showcased from the start, in the difference we will be making through our new mandate. The transformation plan begins in 2019 which will demonstrate what AUDA is about. The implementation of the 2019 work plan will hence set the tone for the space we will be occupying as the development agency of the African Union. We embrace this transformation and I have full confidence that we are all ready for the task at hand,” said Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, AUDA/NEPAD Agency CEO.

Dr Mayaki also emphasised that the AUDA/NEPAD’s mandate brings with it comparative value, and therefore its operationalisation will be through an approach that embraces regional integration and multisectoralism, as well as being impact oriented and participatory.

The Agency’s staff agreed that accountability, credibility, team work and embracing change with a positive mind-set will be critical for successful transformation of the organisation.

The organisation’s business plan draws directly from the AUDA/NEPAD mandate. It focusses on key thematic areas that will guide programming and execution of projects towards realising Agenda 2063 vision for Africa’s transformation. Furthermore, the Agency’s work plans for 2019 and 2020 for all the programmes and operational departments were also developed.