CHIEF CHARUMBIRA PUSHES FOR PAP REFORMS AT AU MEETING IN KIGALI
3 min read
By Taonga Botolo
Without the Pan African Parliament (PAP), which is made up of the people’s elected representatives, the African Union (AU) would have been “a Union of Member States and not a Union of African citizens,” PAP President, Chief Fortune Charumbira has said.
“The founding fathers realized that without a continental Parliament, the quest for representative democracy, popular participation and continental integration would remain nothing more than a pipe-dream,” said the reformist Chief Charumbira when he addressed the ongoing Permanent Representatives’ Committee (PRC) Retreat on the Restructuring of the African Union being held in Kigali, Rwanda from June 8 to 11, 2023.
Chief Charumbira said the continental Legislature remains the only viable mechanism to ensuring full participation and representation of all citizens in the affairs of the AU.
He further observed that the AU reform process was long overdue “especially in the face of a skeptical African citizenry who have begun to question the value of the African Union and its various Organs and Agencies.”
The PAP President commended the Head of the AU Reform Unit, Professor Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo, and his team for “a brilliant and comprehensive report on the proposed restructuring of the African Union”.
“I am impressed by how succinctly Professor Moukoko and his team captured the issues hampering the Pan African Parliament and other AU Organs from effectively fulfilling their mandate and living up to the expectations of the African citizenry.
“The reform process might have taken long but after reading and listening to their report, I believe it was well worth the wait. The report justifies the time and resources devoted to this process and I fully concur with the observations and recommendations on the PAP,” said Senator Charumbira.
He observed that the report had underscored the role of the PAP within the AU Governance architecture, saying reforming the continental Parliament is central to AU’s resolve to becoming a truly people-centered institution, which is prerequisite to the achievement of Agenda 2063 key aspirations.
The Kigali consultations will discuss the Institutional Reforms and the processes underway to reposition the organization to ensure it has the requisite institutional capacity to deliver on the economic, political, and social vision of the continent as encapsulated in Agenda 2063.
Chief Charumbira said PAP concurs with the recommendations by the Reform Unit, including the need to accord the PAP its appropriate position in the hierarchy of the AU organs, so that it can address and attend the meetings of the Executive Council and the Assembly; that the PAP President and the Bureau and the Assembly should be supported to fully implement their responsibility regarding the management and administration of the PAP; that the PAP should be supported by adequate and skilled officers appointed by the PAP and who should be accountable to the PAP Bureau and the Assembly pursuant to the provisions of the Protocol, including expert officials to support the work of Parliamentary Committees, Research and Budget mandates of the PAP; he PAP Bureau and relevant Parliamentary Committees should play a pivotal role in the development of the Budget of the PAP and the Secretariat of the PAP should render the appropriate support in this regard rather than bypass PAP to work with the African Union Commission (AUC); and that the PAP should be allowed to play its oversight role on the Union budget prior to its consideration by the Assembly. This role does not preclude the role played by the PRC and the Executive Council in the same. A mechanism should be developed to ensure that each Organ plays its part in budgetary oversight as per the Protocols, among others.
Members of the AU PRC, African Union Organs, and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are attending the Kigali Retreat.
The reform agenda emphasizes on the need to focus on key priorities with a continental scope; realigning AU institutions to deliver on its objectives; operational efficiency, and sustainable self-financing the Union.
The retreat will also discuss the second 10-year plan of Agenda 2063 spans 2024 to 2033. Agenda 2063 was adopted by the 24th Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa in January 2015.
The Agenda embodies the aspirations of the African people, framed in a collective ambition: The Africa We Want in 2063.
About Author
