The 5th Ordinary Congress held this year in Nairobi, Kenya, under the powerful theme "Amka Africa", is a testament to our collective determination to propel positive change. The gathering symbolised our joint call to action and paved the way for the election of a new leadership to guide and further our mission over the next four years.

Comrades and friends, our shared vision for a united, empowered, integrated and just Africa propels us forward. As we approach the new year’s dawn, we want to express our appreciation for your unwavering dedication and support throughout this challenging but remarkable year. Together, we have set ambitious priorities that will guide our actions in the coming year.
Towards the new year, our priorities remain clear and unwavering. Organising and recruiting new members will be at the forefront of our efforts. We are committed to accelerating our contributions to addressing our continent’s structural transformation challenges. Therefore, we shall stay the course on our advocacy for mineral beneficiation, manufacturing and industrialization.
We know that renewing, strengthening, and empowering our organisations through organising new members and effectively servicing them would improve our mobilisation drive for collective action. Therefore, we shall continue to prioritise all workers without distinction - informal economy workers, young people, women, migrants and disabled persons in our organising quest. Of course, through our affiliates and partners, we shall push our trade union unity agenda steadily in the coming year and forward through definite and pragmatic actions.

Additionally, the preservation of health and safety at the workplace remains essential. Our dedication to contributing to the countering of endemic poverty, inequality and misery through the advancement of well-funded, affordable and easy-to-assess social protection provisions will remain sharp and relentless. We have already launched a debt campaign during our 5th Delegates Congress to demonstrate our commitment to reversing the disproportionate budget-to-debt servicing ratio skewed against public financing of social protection provisions. We shall continue to demand better utilisation of loans, accountability and citizens’ participation in general fiscal management. We shall continue to demand for just and fair lending behaviour from our creditors whilst pursuing debt-rescheduling arrangements that work for all.

Further, from our Congress, our delegates urged us to remain seized with engineering effective ways to defend civil liberties. We have also renewed our commitment towards consolidating our democracies by striving for the sanctity of the rule of law and citizens’ participation in democratic processes. In countries under military rule, we will continue our engagement with all concerned actors towards the return to civil, plural, and citizen-centred democracy. We have noted that sanctions against these countries should be more innovative and targeted at identified actors and not a blanket application akin to a scorned earth strategy that harms workers, jobs, families, businesses, communities and their economies.

As we look towards the coming year and future, let us renew our commitment to the values that bind us together. Our journey toward social justice is one of shared responsibility and collective action, and we are confident that, with your continued support, we shall make tangible and real impacts.

We wish you all a restful and joyous holiday season and look forward to a year of renewed commitment and accomplishments.

Amka Afrika!

In solidarity,
Akhator Joel ODIGIE
General Secretary