The President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira, has called on all stakeholders to move beyond rhetoric and take decisive action in harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Africa’s development.
“While we continue to engage in long discussions about the future and benefits of AI, Africa falls behind in putting in place mechanisms to harness the opportunities of the digital revolution. Now it is time for everyone to play their role. I am here to say that the Pan-African Parliament is ready to play its role,” declared Chief Charumbira.
He was speaking during the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) roundtable on “The Role of Multi-Stakeholders in Promoting AI and Emerging Technologies Advancement in Africa”, held on the sidelines of the World Mobile Conference in Kigali, Rwanda.
The roundtable underscored that while AI holds enormous potential to unlock economic and social progress, most global AI models and emerging technologies continue to underrepresent African datasets and linguistic diversity, thereby perpetuating inequalities and digital exclusion.
H.E. Charumbira stressed that the pervasiveness of AI demands joint efforts and synergy among all stakeholders. Commending the partnership with APHRC, he described it as a strong foundation for moving into the next phase of collaboration — one driven by implementation and concrete solutions to the continent’s technological challenges.
“The Pan-African Parliament fully supports the work undertaken by our partners. This is why we have carried and owned it. It’s now time to expand our horizons and move beyond the current scope. This requires more than political will — it demands leadership at all levels. And the Pan-African Parliament is well positioned to provide that leadership,” he affirmed.
The discussions explored policy options, cross-country experiences, and partnership models to build an AI ecosystem that addresses Africa’s specific challenges. Participants reflected on the roles of legislators, researchers, NGOs, continental bodies such as the ACDC, the private sector, and academia in creating an enabling environment for AI development and scale-up across the continent.
