admin
Zvamaida Murwira in Midrand, South Africa
The Pan-African Parliament is pushing for it to become a legislative body with the mandate to champion the voice of the African people, which is a departure from its current advocacy and consultative role.
This is contained in the PAP’s five-year strategic plan (2024 to 2028) which was debated in a plenary session on Thursday.
PAP president, Chief Fortune Charumbira chaired the plenary in which legislators debated on the document that is set to be adopted next week.
“The vision of PAP is to have an efficient and effective legislative body with a full mandate to champion the voice of the African people in continental governance and promote peace, democracy and development across Africa,” reads part of the document.
“The mission is to ensure full participation of African people in the economic development and integration of the continent, through legislative, oversight, and representational functions that reflect the values and aspirations of the African Union.
“The goal is to use the legislative powers to promote democratic governance, integrated and economically prosperous Africa.”
PAP has over the past years been pushing for the transformation of the institution so that it gets legislative powers in line with what is envisaged by the Malabo Protocol of 2014.
It is hoped that the adoption of the strategic plan will go a long way in giving effect to that objective.
In his address on Thursday, Chief Charumbira chronicled the various stages that the document went through.
This included the engagement of several stakeholders, including experts in the gathering of views and the subsequent drafting of the document.
“We bring the document to be formally adopted for it to be a legally authentic document.
One of the strategic objectives of the plan is to finalise and implement a revised organisational structure for PAP to improve efficiency and governance, refine and standardise governance processes, including decision-making protocols and procedural guidelines, among other issues.
“Key success factors include political will, sustainable funding, stakeholder engagement, capacity building, institutional strengthening, clear communication, and alignment with AU Agenda 2063,” reads the plan.
“Regular monitoring, evaluation, and data-driven adjustments will be essential to keeping the plan on track, ensuring that PAP’s strategic goals contribute to Africa’s integration and development.”
Several legislators who debated called for more recognition and autonomy of PAP in terms of budget formulation. They also called for three African languages that resonate with the continent to be identified.
Online Reporter