‎SYPALA: Implementation remains Africa’s weakness – Edem Senanu

‎Chairperson of the African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption (AUABC), Honourable Kwame Edem Senanu, has identified weak implementation, accountability gaps and limited transparency as major challenges hindering Africa’s development.
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‎Speaking at day two of The Students & Young Professionals African Liberty Academy (SYPALA 2026), on Tuesday August 25,Senanu said although the African Union (AU) had established several frameworks and initiatives to promote development and integration, the continent continued to struggle to translate those commitments into measurable outcomes.
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‎He stressed the need for stronger implementation mechanisms, including regular reporting and reviews to determine whether agreed programmes and policies were actually being executed.
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‎“That is implementation where we need to make sure that reports are in, and review what has been done and executed,” Senanu said.
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‎On economic development, Mr Senanu said the outcomes recorded by the continent remained below expectations, despite the AU’s stated objectives and numerous development commitments.
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‎“Now, outcomes, in general, in relation to what we have set out for economic development as a continent, is still lacking. We are not seeing the kind of economic development that is expected,” he said.
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‎Mr Senanu also cited challenges surrounding the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), particularly the slow progress in achieving stronger intra-African trade.
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‎He argued that effective implementation of the agreement should by now have resulted in visible improvements in trade and economic cooperation among African countries.
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‎“If we had done a good job, we should have ensured that by now trade is moving, results are being seen,” he stated.
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‎The AUABC Chairperson further called for greater transparency between continental institutions and ordinary citizens, saying Africans should be able to easily access information on the progress and achievements of the AU.
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‎“Finally, transparency, especially at the citizen level, so that citizens of Africa can easily see what the AU is doing and how far we have come,” he said.
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‎Senanu said more needed to be done to establish accessible channels, platforms and spaces through which citizens could track the implementation of AU programmes and assess the results being achieved.
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‎“I don’t think that we have done enough in terms of creating the channels, platforms, and spaces where ordinary citizens can easily know what has been achieved,” he added.
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‎His remarks at SYPALA 2026 underscored the need for African institutions and member states to move beyond policy formulation towards effective implementation, stronger accountability and greater citizen participation in assessing the continent’s development progress.