Ministers banned from representing presidents at AU summit

Alfa Conde, chairperson of the African Union (AU), has banned ministers from addressing the assembly of heads of states and governments at the union’s summit.

Speaking at the 28th AU summit in Addis Ababa, capital Ethiopia, Conde said the measure was part of the recommendations made at the previous AU summit in Kigali.

He said ministers should be at the level of their executive meeting, and should be limited to that.

“If you call it assembly of head of states, it should remain so, there is no need for minister to take the floor.”

He said that a committee headed by Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, was set up by AU to reform the summit and how its meeting would be conducted.

He alleged that most of the presidents do not spend time at the meeting, adding that after opening ceremony, some of them take their leave.

Conde, who also frowned at attitude of not being punctual by the leaders called “African time,’’ said it was high time such attitude was checked.

According to him, when they go for such meeting outside Africa, the leaders always keep to time but it is only in Africa they come to meetings at will and late.

Conde said the measure would take effect from July, and that it was one of the steps to implement the reform on how the business of the summit should be conducted.