“It's time to move from rhetoric to action” – PAP President tells speakers of parliament

The President of the Pan African Parliament, His Excellency, Chief Fortune Zephania Charumbira, has made an impassioned plea to Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments attending the 11th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit, to move from rhetoric to action in addressing pressing global developmental challenges or risk being perceived as another wasteful ‘talk show’.
Addressing a working session of the 11th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit which was convened under the theme “Strengthening Disaster Resilience and Responses,” H.E. Chief Charumbira conveyed a sobering reminder to the meeting that, although the Speakers had been meeting under the auspices of the P20 since 2010, global development challenges were, in fact, getting worse and not better.
The President of the Pan African Parliament pointed out that the Executive had come to appreciate that the recurring global challenges could not be resolved without the deliberate inclusion of the people’s voice in policy and decision making. He stated that, “Despite convening 29 COP Meetings to date, global warming continued to increase unabated and there was no agreement to date on climate financing. Notwithstanding the commitment to “Silence the Guns” armed conflicts, terrorism, violent extremism and unconstitutional changes of government continued to rear their ugly head, especially on the African continent. Regardless of growing calls for reform of the global governance system, inherent inequalities remained in the global financial and security architecture.”
In view of this seeming inertia, therefore, H.E. Chief Charumbira averred that Speakers and Presiding Officers as the epicentre of representative democracy should demonstrate the value of their inclusion in the G20 architecture by making a visible impact in addressing the pressing challenges facing the people, including poverty, climate change, food and energy insecurity, global conflicts, the growing youth bulge and the resultant unemployment, the security and ethical challenges posed by the adoption of AI, among other issues.
The PAP President stressed the need for effective monitoring of the outcomes of such fora to confound the notion that they are mere talk shows with little discernible value to the people whose sacred interests Parliaments must represent.
He also articulated the growing tension between multilateralism and multipolarity or transactionalism with the former premised on the rule of law and the latter guided by selfish interests. The PAP President asserted that values should underpin everything we do, moreso the value of “Ubuntu” – “I AM BECAUSE WE ARE.” He stated that, “Guided by the spirit of “Ubuntu” we will be the proverbial brother’s keeper and look out for each other’s interests instead of our own interests.”
The 11th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit is being held at the Arabella Golf Resort and Spa in Kliemond, Cape Town, South Africa, under the theme “Harnessing Parliamentary Diplomacy for the Realisation of Global Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.” This is the first-ever P20 Summit on African soil, and the first-ever P20 Summit that has been preceded by an inaugural P20 Youth Summit, signifying a historic milestone and unique opportunity to showcase the continent’s extraordinary and youthful potential and opportunities.
The G20 serves as an essential international platform for shaping public policies and strategies to address pressing contemporary and emerging global challenges.