The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has opened the August Sittings of the Permanent Committees of the sixth Parliament of the PAP with a Strategic Reorientation Workshop for members of the PAP under the theme: “reviving, renewing, repositioning and reinvigorating the Pan-African Parliament” set to run from 22-24th of August.
Hosted in Midrand, South Africa, the currently underway sixth Parliament of the PAP is also guided by the African Union theme of 2022; ‘Building resilience in nutrition on the African continent: Accelerate the human capital, social and economic development’.
“I must admit that I am humbled by the huge turnout and attendance of this epoch-defining Workshop by Hon. Members of the Pan African Parliament,” said H.E President, Chief Fortune Charumbira, during his keynote address.
“Your attendance Hon. Members, attests to your stoic commitment to the revival of the Pan African Parliament in pursuit of its mandate of, “ensuring the full participation of African peoples in the economic development and integration of the continent.” Your presence is thus a bold statement of intent not just to rejuvenate the Pan African Parliament and cement its definitive role within the wider continental governance matrix, but also to ensure that the vaunted dream of our founding fathers is achieved.”
H.E President, Chief Fortune Charumbira also highlighted that the event serves as a correct direction towards achieving the vision of African luminaries who pioneered a united African continent.
“May I also acknowledge and appreciate the presence of AU Commissioners, representatives of other Organs of the AU, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and other important stakeholders and stockholders. Your presence here is a reaffirmation of the complementary role that we all should play in driving the vision of our founding fathers of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena.” This workshop thus embodies the proverbial first step towards transcending from a superficial collaboration between the PAP and the various organs of the Union to creating meaningful synergies with clear and measurable outcomes that benefit our citizens. Thank you all for heeding the call to honour the Pan African Parliament with your presence at this workshop.
Meanwhile, the 1st Vice President of the PAP, Hon. Professor Massouda Mohamed Laghdaf underlined the need of restoring an exceptional image for the PAP during her welcome remarks.
“We would recall that at the conclusion of the election that brought in this present leadership, we promised to undertake all necessary tasks to revive our parliament and restore it to its prominent position as the third organ of the African Union with tangible legislative and institutional competence.
“Throughout the course of the past two months, the Bureau ably led by the Honourable President, H.E Charumbira has left no stone unturned in establishing the institutional framework to actualize the mandate that you gave us when you elected us to lead the Fifth Parliament. I wish to commend all of you for the marvellous efforts in organizing and coordinating this workshop and particularly for the wisdom and foresight that informed the selection of the theme of this workshop, “Reviving, Renewing, Repositioning and Reinvigorating the Pan African Parliament”. I cannot think of a better theme that deeply reflects the need of this parliament and encapsulates our future projection at this pivotal moment in our history.
Hon. Professor Massouda Mohamed Laghdaf further challenged the African legislators to recall their purpose in parliament.
“The people of Africa that sent us here demand results and they deserve it. We can no longer afford to fail them and that’s why I commend our President for his resolute steadfastness in ensuring that this workshop is instituted. Our fundamental objective is to examine where we are, and where we’ve been in order to have a better and more defined perspective about where we are going. To achieve our purpose, the Bureau ably led by President Charumbira has made the capacitation of our members a top priority.
“In this workshop, we will examine the current status of the Covid-19 pandemic, assess the vision underlying the foundation of our institution, reflect on developmental strategic blueprint such as Agenda 2063, and seek best practices in strengthening our institutional linkages with AU policy organs, evaluate the image of our Parliament both internal and external, review the status of our protocol and devise mechanisms for rebranding and repositioning our institution for optimal performance,” said Hon. Professor Massouda Mohamed Laghdaf.
