The August Sittings of the Permanent Committees of the sixth Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) are scheduled to be held from 22 August to 02 September 2022 at the seat of the continental Parliament in Midrand, South Africa.
The Sittings will be guided by the African Union theme of 2022; ‘Building resilience in nutrition on the African continent: Accelerate the human capital, social and economic development’.
Among others, the PAP committees will work on various issues including a dedicated workshop on the AU theme of 2022; an update on the peace and security situation on the continent; model law on Food Security and Nutrition; Covid-19 Crisis and economic and social recovery strategies in Africa; status of implementation of the AfCFTA; model law on Gender Parity; and implementation status of the African Union Ten-Year Action Plan to eradicate Child Labour and Human Trafficking.
“The August Sittings will also feature the Speaker’s Conference where the leadership of Africa’s national and regional legislatures will concert on AU decisions and policies as well as evaluate the state of the ratification of the PAP Protocol and ways to speed up this process,” says the H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of the PAP.
H.E. Charumbira says that committees are the engine house of the Parliament as they ensure in-depth analysis on topical and emerging issues facing Africa. “The Committees enable Parliament to perform its core oversight, advisory and consultative functions. Further, such an arrangement allows the PAP to perform several functions simultaneously and provide required detailed investigation on matters of concern.”
The upcoming sittings constitute the first statutory assignment of the parliament since the elective ordinary session in June 2022, which signaled the resumption of parliamentary activities. The August sittings will be preceded by a strategic reorientation workshop for members of the Pan-African Parliament on 22-23 August aimed at “Reviving, Renewing, Repositioning and Reinvigorating the Pan-African Parliament.”
The workshop will serve as a catalyst to the PAP’s commitment to reposition itself within the AU architecture, through an in-depth analysis of its mandate and how it can effectively contribute to achieving the objectives of the Union.
