Madagascar's former Foreign Affairs Minister Richard Randriamandrato has pledged to prioritise free trade should he be elected African Union Commission chairperson.
The elections will be held in February 2015 with winner replacing incumbent Moussa Mahamat Faki of Chad.
Speaking during live debate dubbed Mjadala Afrika, Randriamandrato said free trade will translate Africa’s wealth to continental prosperity.
"I'm an economist and a finance person. First of all, to develop at the economy at the continental level, we need to develop trade through liberation,” he said.
"In theory, trade can effectively become a source of economic dynamism.”
Randriamandrato noted that trade between European Union counties, for instance, goes up to 50 per cent, more than double that of African countries.
“Trade between African countries is at 12.6 per cent which is very low,” he explained.
He promised to ensure free trade happens as soon as possible if he clinches the AUC chairperson's seat.
“We need to start moderately so that slowly by slowly we shall at the end, the youth and women will have opportunity to participate in the large continental market,” he stated.
Randriamandrato faced Kenya’s Raila Odinga and Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf in the debate.
Each candidate was given four minutes to articulate his vision on each question during four rounds of debate.
The debate is expected to play a crucial role in informing the African people on the policy and priorities of the candidates.
It is aimed to promote the AU’s mission and provide candidates with a platform to communicate their vision for achieving the organization’s goal of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa.
The debate was before a live audience comprising AU Executive Council members, Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) members, AU Commissioners, media representatives and guests.
It was also beamed live across the continent in all the six working languages of the African Union - English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili.
Simultaneous interpretation was provided to the candidates and the audience in all the six languages.
The current leadership of the AU Commission, under the
outgoing chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, is soon coming to an end.
The upcoming elections for the new chairperson of the AUC is expected to take place in February 2025, during the next annual summit of the of Heads of State and Government of the AU.
