Statement by the Presiding Officer of the 2nd Permanent General Assembly of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC),
Mr. Joseph Chilengi, on the occasion of the Inauguration of the Assembly, Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya, 22 Dec. 2014

Statement by the Presiding Officer of the 2nd Permanent General Assembly of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC),
Mr. Joseph Chilengi, on the occasion of the Inauguration of the Assembly, Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya, 22 Dec. 2014

Your Excellency, Ms. Amina Mohamed, the Foreign Minster of the Republic of Kenya and Member of the AU Executive Council.

Your Excellency, Mr. Erastus Mwencha, the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission

Honorable Deputy Presiding Officers of ECOSOCC

My Colleagues and Members of the 2nd ECOSOCC General Assembly,

Other Distinguished Representatives of African Civil Society Organizations,

Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Members of the Press Corps and Fourth Estate,

Invited Guests,

Participants,

Observers,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

First of all, I wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Government and people of Kenya for their kind hospitality and for playing host to this Assembly. Her Excellency, the Foreign Minister for Kenya has observed that Kenya is a second home for all African People. For us in the 2nd Permanent Assembly of ECOSOCC, Kenya is our first home because it is where the Assembly was born. The experience and memory is one that we shall always cherish as we strive for a record of performance that would make Kenya and the larger family of Africa and its Diaspora proud as a testimony to this unique moment.

In the same vein, I would like to thank our Guest of Honor, Her Excellency, the Minster of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Amina Mohammed for deeming it fit to take time from her onerous responsibility and important matters of State to launch this Assembly. We consider this as evidence of the importance that she and the Kenyan Government attach to the project of African Unity and integration and the need to ensure that our developmental processes are anchored on the needs, and aspiration of the ordinary citizens of Africa.

Furthermore, I wish to thank the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission for taking time out of his leave period to be with us toady. His Excellency Mr. Erastus Mwencha is a champion of ECOSOCC. As he indicated in his address, he was with us at the launch of the First Assembly in 2008 and has taken the time to be with us again approximately six years after. It is a sign and expression that ECOSOCC occupies a special place in his heart and that we will always receive his support and assistance and that of the Commission that he stands for.

Your Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I must also congratulate my colleagues in the General Assembly of ECOSOCC for their elections as Honorable Members of the Second ECOSOCC Permanent General Assembly. The qualifications were stringent and several of the elections were keenly contested. Their success in the electoral endeavor was a mark of the trust and confidence that is bestowed on them by the African people. Our honor demands reciprocity in this regard. We must conduct ourselves in a manner that would justify the confidence and trust that the African society has placed in us.

I plead with all Members of the 2nd ECOSOCC General Assembly to approach our onerous task with this sense of responsibility so that we can deliver on the promise of ECOSOCC for the founding fathers of the AU, the wider African people and in particular, the ordinary citizens of the continent and the men and women on the street from which we derive our mandate. As members of the wider African Union family we would normally require parity of treatment with our esteemed colleagues in other commensurate organs in defense of the dignity of the African Civil society community but this 2nd ECOSOCC General Assembly will serve the interests of the wider African people and commit itself to the development and integration project of the African continent.

Your Excellences, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I participated in the ECOSOCC Sensitization and Motivation Campaign of August to October 2014 that paved way for this Assembly and the messages I got from them are the same messages that I have got from listening to our Guest of Honor and the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission. The clear message that we are getting is to learn from the past, embrace challenges, work assiduously to project a positive image of ECOSOCC within the African Union family and commit ourselves to the realization of the goals and objectives of the African Union.

I want to assure all and sundry that my colleagues and I have got the messages and we are determined to make Africa proud. This is not the time or place for us in ECOSOCC to unfold the details of our agenda but since we were elected yesterday I have been consulting with my colleagues and sharing with them thoughts on our vision and purpose for ECOSOCC. Details would be unfolded soon as it is our intention to hit the ground running. However, it would be useful to offer some highlights in this context.

Your Excellences, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Our first task would be to hold an orientation program for newly elected Members of the 2nd General Assembly, as this is a pre-requisite for role adaptation and effective performance. The previous ECOSOCC Assembly suffered because several members were not too clear on the purpose and function of ECOSOCC, the demands and responsibility of the Organ and its relationship with the Commission and other organs etc. There was also scant knowledge about the rules and regulations of the African Union and the rights and duties of Members. We consider that foundation process as essential and it should last for one whole week. Our desire is that this orientation program should take place in the first week of February 2015 immediately after the January 2015 Summit in Cairo, Egypt or any other suitable country if Egypt cannot accommodate the meeting.

Our second focus would be to mobilize and build grassroots support for AU program and activities and effectively link them with the wishes and aspirations of the African people at the grassroots. In order to do this, ECOSOCC meetings, activities and programs would be rotated among different countries and regions of The African continent. Every meeting or program would be preceded by a day for sensitization and motivation for the African Union. The lesson of the AU Motivation campaign for ECOSOCC elections is that the process must be domesticated and continuous. As part of the project, ECOSOCC would also commit to sensitization in support of Agenda 2063 and the post 2015 development agenda.

Our third and foremost priority would be to operationalize the Sectorial Cluster Committees so that ECOSOCC can perform the policy-making role that it was created to perform. We would also be introducing a business model to support our performance objectives and this will align our strategic plan with commensurate business plans, defined targets and appropriate timelines.

Excellences, Invited Guests, ladies and Gentlemen

In performing our duties, we would be requiring the assistance and support of the Commission. The process of ECOSOCC elections has shown concretely how well the Commission can act in support of ECOSOCC objectives. We wish to thank the Commission and its Chairperson for prioritizing ECOSOCC and giving it the necessary support to convene this Assembly. We are here today partly because the Chairperson, HE Dr. Zuma prioritized ECOSOCC. We wish to thank her most sincerely for such consideration. In this regard, I must also express our appreciation for the contribution of the AU Interdepartmental Committee for Verification and Appraisal o candidates for eligibility that was led by Ambassador Lazarus Kapambwe, Advisor in the Office of the Chairperson.

Significantly, also as someone associated with ECOSOCC for the last eight (8) years, I also want to deeply appreciate the work of the Secretariat in CIDO. The role and importance of ECOSOCC in the African Union today is possible because of the effort and devotion of the CIDO Secretariat. There is a tendency to undervalue this contribution but every honest and sincere person that has been associated with tithe ECOSOCC enterprise would certainly appreciate the work and role of CIDO in making sure that ECOSOCC works well. In appreciating CIDO, we must in particular commend the drive and inspiration of its Director, Dr. Jinmi Adisa, who has been the lantern bearer of the ECOSOCC project. Several of my colleagues spoke about this during the conduct of our elections. His commitment, capability and dedication are rare values that are not normally combined in a single individual. His person and his work remains a source of inspiration and passion for the work of the African Union.

Your Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I have given a short statement of our vision and purpose to assure you that this ECOSOCC Assembly would not be developed as a Trade Union that is out to service the interest of its elected Members. We came here to serve the continent and we shall do so honestly and diligently. Accordingly, I have been sincere and candid in my appraisal of tasks, challenges and even persons, activities and programs. In doing so, I have reflected the ethics of civil society where we say things as they are. This ECOSOCC Assembly would be an honest and sincere Assembly. Our promise to you is that we shall deliver on the promise of ECOSOCC in the time allocated for us to carry out our mandate. I and my colleagues ask for your sincere and collective support for this venture . I am certain that you will give us such support.

Long Live the African Union.