ADDIS ABABA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- African Union Commission (AU) Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat called on AU member states to comply with an agreement they made whereby 0.2 percent revenue of import levy by individual member states was to be used to finance the AU.
Mahamat was speaking at the commencement of the 29th Ordinary session of the Summit of the African Union which opened Tuesday and will continue until July 4th.
The 0.2 percent import levy on individual member states agreement was made at the 27th African Union Summit held in July 2016, Kigali, Rwanda which focused on covering AU's financing needs.
The decision which entered into force in January 2017, directs all member states to implement 0.2 percent levy on eligible imports from non-member countries to finance the Pan-African bloc.
In particular, the AU plans to have a predictable and reliable funding for continental peace through AU's peace fund, thus reducing dependency on finances from external partners.
The 0.2 percent import levy is also planned to be a financing mechanism for Africa's development and integration programs within the continent.
The AU hopes with this funding mechanism it will be able to meet all its operational fund needs by 2022.
