AU ECOSOCC’s 4th General Assembly holds Dec 5 – 9, in Nairobi

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The African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU ECOSOCC) is set to hold its fourth Permanent General Assembly (PGA) in Nairobi, Kenya, December 5 to 9, to be attended by  delegates representing Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from across member states of the AU.

The ECOSOCC is an AU organ providing advisory opinions to the leadership of the Union in the area of policy formulation as well as popularising the AU’s agenda and activities through citizens participation.

The session will be the first ordinary session of the Council’s 4th Permanent General Assembly and will be preceded by a composite election of new elected members of the 4th PGA. ECOSOCC comprises 154 member organisations who participate in the Council’s elections to elect a bureau led by a presiding Officer and four regional deputy presiding officers.

According to a statement by the Council’s outgoing Presiding Officer, Denise Kodhe, the 4th ECOSOCC PGA will be attended by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Dr Alfred Mutua. Mr Kodhe noted that representation of member states in ECOSOCC is through local organisations registered locally in the member states, for two terms of four years each.

“As the outgoing Presiding Officer, I am confident and certain that the incoming leadership will be able to steer ECOSOCC to great heights. I wish to say election of the ECOSOCC leadership is done transparently and democratically giving every member an opportunity to elect leadership of their own choice,” he said.

The outgoing Presiding Officer said ECOSOCC’s engagement with CSOs was not limited to only the 154 members of the General Assembly but to the whole non-state Actors fraternity on the continent. Under the Statute of ECOSOCC, Civil Society Organisations are defined as all non-state actors, including inter- faith organisations, the media, the private sector, professional organisations and associations, among others.

Kodhe said the importance of citizens participation in the development agenda of the African continent cannot be under-estimated, adding that decisions and policies of African leaders were of no use if their impact would not be felt by citizens at the grassroots, hence the establishment of  ECOSOCC by the AU.