Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola will lead the South African delegation to Ghana on Thursday for a high-level African Union session on how the continent funds itself.
Lamola will attend the 27th Extraordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council on the Financing of the Union in Accra, Ghana, on 13 November 2026.
The joint session will bring together ministers of foreign affairs and finance to consider the Report of the High Representative on Financing the Union and the Peace Fund.
It will also consider a proposal on the strategic partnership between the AU and African multilateral financial institutions.
The choice of Accra as host places Ghana at the centre of one of the most consequential debates facing the AU. The session comes as AU Member States increasingly voice concerns about dependence on external funding sources and the need to minimise the risks associated with prescriptive funding conditions and external influence.
For South Africa, the meeting is an opportunity to strengthen its working relationship with Ghana, one of the continent’s most influential diplomatic voices and a key partner in West Africa. Lamola is expected to use the margins of the session to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts on issues of mutual interest and concern.
“The financing of the AU is a discussion that is as urgent as it is timely, given the shrinking pool of external funding. In this fractured geopolitical context, partners we have relied on are redirecting their resources to other priorities. Unless we match political ownership with financial ownership, our aspirations for development, integration and silencing the guns will be at risk at a time when their realisation is most needed,” said Lamola.
The statement frames the Accra session as more than a technical discussion on budgets. It positions financing as central to the AU’s ability to deliver on development, integration and peace and security.
Member states have for years debated how to reduce reliance on external partners who fund a significant share of AU programmes and peace operations. The concern, as outlined ahead of the session, is that external funding can come with conditions that limit the AU’s ability to set its own priorities.
The Peace Fund is central to that debate. The fund is intended to support AU peace and security operations and reduce dependence on external donors for interventions on the continent. The report to be considered in Accra is expected to assess progress and challenges in financing the Union and the Peace Fund.
The session also comes at a time when global funding priorities are shifting. Traditional partners are redirecting resources to other priorities, including domestic pressures and conflicts outside Africa. That shift has increased pressure on African states to find sustainable, predictable and African-owned sources of financing.
South Africa has consistently argued for greater financial ownership of AU institutions. The Accra session provides Lamola with a platform to advance that position alongside finance ministers, rather than in a foreign affairs forum alone.
The joint format of the session is significant. By bringing foreign affairs and finance ministers together, the AU is signalling that financing is not only a diplomatic issue but also a fiscal and economic one. Decisions taken in Accra will require both political commitment and budgetary commitment from member states.
Ghana’s role as host also underscores the country’s standing in AU diplomacy. Accra has hosted several major continental meetings and remains a hub for African integration discussions.
For Lamola, the bilateral meetings on the margins will be as important as the formal session. South Africa and Ghana share membership of the AU and cooperate on trade, peace and security, and multilateral reform. The meetings will allow Lamola to engage directly with counterparts on issues of mutual interest and concern, as outlined by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
The department did not provide further detail on the specific bilateral meetings scheduled.
The session is expected to conclude with decisions on the way forward for AU financing and the strategic partnership between the AU and African multilateral financial institutions.
Media enquiries can be directed to Ministerial Spokesperson Phindile Kunene.