President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, just back from the 13th Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held in Sirte, Libya, says the decision to transform the Organization into an Authority does not take away the sovereignty of member states. The Authority, the Liberian President said, would be an intergovernmental organization working to achieve a common African objective.

Speaking to journalists Saturday following her return from the Summit, the President said the decision is intended to serve as an initial step towards a process which would eventually lead to a future United States of Africa. The decision to transform the Union into an Authority, an Executive Mansion release quotes the President as saying, does not come into effect until it is ratified by parliaments of the various members states of the Union.

Liberia, the President said, welcomes the progress by African leaders toward integration, describing the move as a dream envisioned by Africa's founding fathers, who promoted the principle of a united African Government decades ago.

The Authority, which will serve as an administrative arm of the organization, will be headed by a president, a vice president and 8 secretaries who would collaborate with various sectors within African Governments on policy issues which fall under their respective areas of concentration. The aim is to ensure common positions on issues such as defense, health, education, agriculture, foreign, trade and investment, among others.

The Liberian leader also welcomed a decision reached at the summit, urging all African countries to set aside 10-percent of their annual national budget for the agriculture sector, in keeping with the Maputo declaration, which called for 10 percent of the national budget of each member state to be allocated for agriculture production.

The decision, the Liberian leader noted is intended to tackle the global food crisis and to offer assistance to small local farmers to help them increase their production while generating the much needed income for the produce.