. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's appointment as the African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson could have an impact on South Africa's image. South Africa should give her support in the form of competent personnel. . South Africa should fill positions in international organisations in line with its allocated quota. There has been slow progress in that regard. . Increasing the contributions of African countries to the AU might be a big challenge. . Funding was a fundamental issue in the AU. Dr Dlamini-Zuma would be wise to take the issue on. . The role of the AU, its mandate as well as its goals, was strongly linked to funding for anyone to ignore the important role played by funding. Dr Dlamini-Zuma should take a look at the existential aspect of the mandate of the AU while taking the funding issue into cognisance. . The more independent the AU could be as a body, the more seriously it would be taken by the citizens of the continent. There had been challenges which the AU was regarded as slow in reacting to. . In order to be taken seriously too, South Africa should define its role as a key player in Africa. Decisions around foreign policy should be communicated in a clear manner. . South Africa should be cautious as to when and how it intervenes in a given situation, especially with regard to conflicts in Africa. It should ensure that it conducts a continuous evaluation of whether certain choices were within its national interest.