7 Facts You Must Know About AU's Agenda 2063

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On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of African Union (AU) in May 2013, Member States redirected themselves to the Pan African Vision of "an integrated, prosperous and  peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in international arena” to prepare a continental agenda through a people-driven process outlining the Africa We Want, namely Agenda 2063.
This Agenda is a strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the continent. Its builds on, and seeks to accelerate the implementation of past and existing continental initiatives for growth and sustainable development. Some of the past and current initiatives it builds on include: the Lagos Plan of Action, The Abuja Treaty, The Minimum Integration Programme, the Programme for Infrastructural Development in Africa (PIDA), The Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), The New partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Regional Plans and Programmes and National Plans. Now, let's quickly go through the 7 facts you must know about this Agenda: 
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1. It is a 50 year Development Agenda

DeGhetto and et al gives very concise overview that, Agenda 2063 aims to position Africa for growth over the next 50 years, that's from 2013 to 2063, incorporating lessons and experiences from the past. The ultimate goal is to secure three ideals – Unity, Prosperity, and Peace – for all its citizens. It is a global strategic rolling plan with short- (10 years), medium- (10–25 years), and long-term (25–50 years) perspectives. Put simply, Agenda 2063 is aimed at getting Africa to do things differently (people-centered), bigger (scaling and scoping up), and better (governance, performance outcomes, impact on citizens, etc.)

2. It has 7 Aspirations

These 7 aspirations represent the voices of the people of Africa and her diaspora, united in diversity, young and old, men and women, girls and boys from all walks of life. The people of Africa also believe that the Agenda 2063, rooted in Pan Africanism and African Renaissance, provides a robust framework for addressing past injustices and the realisation of the 21st Century as the African Century. Now, lets take the pain to go through the 7 aspirations. They are:
  1. A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development; 
  2. An integrated continent, politically united, based on the ideals of Pan Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance; 
  3. An Africa of good governance, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law; 
  4. A peaceful and secure Africa; 
  5. An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics; 
  6. An Africa whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children; and 
  7. Africa as a strong, united, resilient and influential global player and partner.



3. Each Aspiration has its Goals and Targets

Again, DeGhetto and et al simplify all the Key Agenda 2063 Documents; The Agenda 2063 Framework Document-Transformation Framework, Agenda 2063 Popular Version The First 10-Year Implementation Plan and outlined that, there are 18 goals which are further expanded into 44 priority areas and finally expressed as 161 different national-level targets. The key Agenda 2063 Documents provide in details all the goals and targets as well as the priority areas. These documents were developed based on extensive consultations and detailed technical work, by the AUC in collaboration with NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency supported by UNESA and AfDB. 

4. It has not been well received by the African people

Honestly, the Agenda 2063 is known by probably only policy makers and few civil society players. Building citizen's awareness and popularizing the agenda in order to mobilise national stakeholders, including the private sector, women and youth groups has not been achieved. Unlike the SDGs which has received a lot of  attention and education since 2015, the Agenda 2063 has no connection with the people. In terms of domestication, Ghana has done a good job by incorporating it into her national development agenda, that's the Long-term National Development Plan developed by the National Development Planning Commission. 

5. CSOs are more focused on the SDGs than Agenda 2063

Civil Society Organizations as well as NGOs hardly discuss the Agenda 2063. In Ghana for instance, there is the National CSOs platform on the SDGs which is a platform to coordinate the activities of CSOs working on the SDGs. One may ask, is there any platform like that to also look at the Agenda 2063? However, at the continental level, African Monitor  seems to be doing a lot of work with the African CSO Working Group (AWG) which is an open voluntary platform of about 200 African Civil Society Organizations working to promote sustainable development in Africa with great focus on the Agenda 2063. 

6. Not Legally binding

The Agenda 2063 is not legally binding. Nevertheless, member sates are expected to take ownership and establish a national framework for achieving the agenda. Implementation and success will rely on countries' own sustainable development policies, plans and programmes. 

7. Rely on DRM in Financing the Agenda 

The final and most important aspect of the Agenda 2063 is MONEY! Detailed strategies for the financing of Agenda 2063 are presented and related to the attaining of each of the 7 aspirations. In contrast to mobilizing external resources (through FDI, Aid, Trade, and Debt Relief), Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) offers the advantages of greater domestic policy ownership and greater coherence with domestic needs, and higher development impact. For these reasons, Agenda 2063 requires Member States to place greater emphasis on domestic resources in the financing of the Agenda. It is anticipated that DRM has the potential to contribute, up to 70% to 80%, of the financing needs of the Agenda 2063.


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Author: Clifford 


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