President Paul Kagame has called for increased private sector collaboration in African Union’s key initiatives.

Kagame was speaking at the closure of the 30th African Union summit yesterday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Kagame, who on Sunday began his term as the AU Chairperson, told his counterparts that the private sector was eager to get involved as critical partners in creating opportunities and building prosperity.

"As we go forward, I would encourage closer collaboration with Africa’s private sector on the Union’s key initiatives. The business community is always eager to get involved, and more importantly, they are critical partners in creating opportunities and building the prosperity our continent needs,” Kagame said.

He also called on African countries to pay more attention to conservation, saying it would enable the continent to make the most of its assets and better management of sectors such as agriculture and tourism.

"Africans need to take the lead, in partnership with like-minded global organisations, in conservation because it affects us directly. Driving conservation will allow us get the most out of our continent’s assets, contribute to better management of our agriculture and tourism sectors, and support efforts to mitigate climate change,” he said.

Addressing questions by members of the press, the President said that the African Union reforms were picking up the pace as countries and their respective leaders were in support of the process.

"Reforms need a lot of mindset change, change doesn’t come easy, it requires hard work and sometimes taking risks but the most important thing is change is driven by the need for it. If people understand that there is need for change, they will be responsive to it…So far, there is good progress as more people join in and we will continue work together,” Kagame said.

On the African Union self-financing mechanism through the 0.2 per cent levy on imports from outside the continent, he mentioned that 21 countries were already implementing the mechanisms while others were readying themselves for implementation.

"We can generate resources from our own countries and if there is need to involve external partners, then the support will add to our own efforts. Africa isn’t going to remain as the place that depends on the rest of the world. We need to get the results that we want,” he told reporters.

On addressing corruption, Kagame said that it ought to begin with a desire to get rid of the vice coupled by interventions such as education, building rule of law, institutions and making sure that corruption attracts penalties irrespective of the offenders.

Combating corruption was one of the key agenda points of the African Union this year with Nigerian President Mohammed Buhari spearheading the effort.

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