Abstract
Africa faces a dual challenge of governance and development, with institutional
and implementation crises looming large. Whereas the continent has gone
through an energetic period of diplomacy during the decade 1998–2008, in
which institutions and programmes like the African Union (AU) and the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) have been established, we have
also witnessed serious problems revealing themselves. One such problem has
been institutional rivalries which served to undermine the continent’s political
and development agendas, and one such enmity was the tension and rancour
between the AU and NEPAD. The newly elected Chair of the AU Commission in
Addis Ababa will have to address such serious institutional tensions and rivalries
in the continent.