Your Excellency, Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission;
Your Excellencies, Permanent Representatives of the AU Member States;
Your Excellency, Deputy Chairperson of the Commission;
Commissioners here present;
Heads of the AU Policy Organs;
Colleagues and dear friends;

It is my singular honour to welcome you all to the 41st Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives’ Committee of the African Union. As decided by the Bureau of the Assembly of the African Union and the Chairs of RECs at their meeting of 24 December 2020, we hold this Ordinary Session of the PRC virtually. Equally, the upcoming 38th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council will be conducted virtually. We eagerly await the final determination on the format of the 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,
2020 saw the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a pandemic that has tormented the world and our very own continent was not spared. Africa is now feeling the brunt of the second wave of this pandemic. We see the numbers of infection surging in many of our countries and regrettably the numbers of death are also escalating. These are very difficult times for all of us. This was the story of the year 2020 and all indications are that it will be the story of the year 2021.

If 2020 has taught us anything, it will be that the African spirit does not bow its knee to a pandemic. When the pandemic struck the Continent, the Bureau of the Assembly, assisted by the Chairperson of the Commission and his Team, sprang into action. Desiring to have coherence and one message, the Bureau decided on a continental strategy to fight the pandemic, established the Covid-19 Response Fund which is voluntarily funded, appointed Special Envoys to mobilise resources to assist the Continent deal with the pandemic and lately appointed the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team to secure vaccines for the African countries.

We necessarily therefore commend the salutary efforts of the Bureau of the Assembly which assisted the continent to stand up to the pandemic. To date, six Bureau meetings have been convened plus four extended Bureau meetings.

We equally recognise the sterling work of the Commission and Africa CDC in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic on the Continent.
While the pandemic had an impact on the implementation of the Theme of the Year 2020 which is “Silencing the Guns in Africa: creating conducive conditions for Africa’s development, but our glorious Union demonstrated resolve to charting a way forward to silencing the guns on the Continent. This was evidenced by the many decisions taken at the Johannesburg Extraordinary Summit on 7 December 2020 including the extension of the implementation of the road master plan on silencing the guns in Africa by a further ten years. We must redouble our efforts to finally silence the guns on the continent, working with all the relevant stakeholders including civil society. For without peace, there shall never be development.

Notwithstanding Covid-19, Africa showed incredible determination by conducting and concluding virtual negotiations on complex and difficult matters of the AFCFTA, leading to the successful Johannesburg Extraordinary Summit on 6 December 2020. Consequently, it is now twenty days since the Continent started trading under the AFCFTA. It is absolutely important to work to implement all the decisions taken at the Summit, including the conclusion of outstanding negotiations and the capacitation of the AFCFTA Secretariat in Accra to enable it to carry out its mandate as contained in the Agreement. Most critical will be our concerted efforts to deal with the instability on the Continent in order to allow the peoples of Africa to participate and benefit from the expected benefits of trading under the ACFCTA.

Distinguished colleagues,
We are building up to the election of the Senior Leadership of the African Union Commission. It would be remiss of me to not take this opportunity to thank the current leadership, with H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, DCP and all the Commissioners for their fortitude, diligence and able stewardship of the Commission.

As we will soon embark on a new theme for 2021: “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want” it is apt that we continue Africa’s socio-economic and political accelerated development as we seek to satisfy our aspirations as presented in the AU’s Agenda 2063. This blue print seeks to position Africa as a dominant player globally and as such any negative impact on any of its pillars behoves of us to come up with solutions as this collective demonstrating our commitment to the Africa we want.

Our PRC has conducted its work virtually, embracing the new reality and have developed great patience and understanding.

Throughout the year 2020, we traversed many issues such as the Streamlining of the work programmes of the Executive Council and Assembly, Supplementary budget request from Africa CDC, periodic briefings by the Commissioners, regular briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic, briefing by the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat outlining a roadmap to 1 January 2021, a briefing by the Panel of Eminent Africans which is charged with the important mandate of selecting the senior leadership of the Commission. We are happy that their process has proceeded well with the necessary integrity.

Our PRC successfully prepared for the 37th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and 2nd Mid Year Coordination as well as the two Johannesburg Extraordinary Summits.

It bears mentioning that all our partnership meetings (AU/Arab and AU/EU) were postponed to 2021 due to Covid-19.

Dear Colleagues,
In conclusion, allow me to extend my profound gratitude to all the Permanent Representatives and their officials for their support and most importantly their friendship during our tenure as Chair of the PRC. A special thanks goes to the Bureau of the PRC for all their support.
I also want to thank the leadership of the Commission and all the Commission staff, for their support and counsel during my tenure as Chair of this PRC. I will come back to this issue when I make my closing remarks.

For now, back to the work at hand. In our meeting of the 14th of January as we were levelling the ground for this session, we aligned our agenda with the need to review and rationalize them to focus only on urgent matters that need decisions from the Policy Organs and we further aligned the Assembly agenda items with the outcomes of the 24th December 2020 Assembly Bureau and Chairs of RECs meeting.
It pleases me to now declare this the 41st Ordinary Session of the PRC duly open. I wish this Session fruitful and productive deliberations.

Thank you,
Merci boucoup,
Obrigado.
Siyabonga!