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Plans to establish a regional parliament for Southern Africa are gaining momentum. On July 11, 2024, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed the agreement to transform the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum into a parliament. The DRC became the 12th SADC member state to accede, helping meet the quorum for the 16-member bloc to establish the regional parliament. Dr Gwinyayi Albert Dzinesa has researched on African regional organisations and regional integration for over two decades. He explains why the parliament could be a game-changer for the region.
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Why is the absence of a SADC parliament a problem?
The SADC Treaty seeks to promote regional integration through institutions that are democratic, legitimate and effective.
Not having a regional parliament has impeded the democratic, participatory decision-making, policymaking and implementation processes of the country grouping. Citizens’ interests and needs have arguably been overlooked.
How would regional parliament be a game-changer?
There are no details yet on the composition, mandate, powers, functions, procedures and budget of the regional parliament.
But the institution would add to the regional governance architecture.
Ideally, the SADC parliament would be able to carry out key legislative, representational and oversight functions.
That would enable it to ensure speedy ratification of regional protocols by national parliaments, monitor the implementation of regional protocols, oversee other SADC institutions and complement efforts to promote regional integration and development.
Members of the parliament should ideally be directly elected by all adult voters.
Citizens would have a direct say in who represents them in the regional parliament.
The East African Legislative Assembly is an example of a regional parliament with the authority to perform legislative functions.
The East African Community (EAC) Treaty empowers it to make laws that bind member states.
The assembly approves the budget of the EAC.
It also exercises political oversight over the community’s institutions.
Its members are elected by their respective national parliaments.
They do not need to be parliamentarians in their countries.
A SADC parliament with real powers would boost regional integration.
It would promote the quality of elections in the region, increase the number of women in law-making roles, ensure the region has good laws and promote economic development.
Regional integration
The SADC parliament could encourage debate on regional issues.
These include climate change, food security, industrialisation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and cyber security.
It could get regional protocols put into action faster.
And it could improve citizens’ participation in regional affairs, countering the view of the SADC as a “club of regimes”.
Election standards
The parliament would promote member states’ compliance with SADC principles and guidelines for democratic elections.
These are aimed at enhancing the transparency, credibility and acceptance of election results.
This helps deepen trust in democratic governance. Members of the regional parliament could join future election observer missions.
Women representation
The parliament could boost the representation of women.
The SADC’s gender and development protocol calls for 50:50 gender parity in national parliaments by 2030.
In 2022, only five (31,3 percent) states — Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe — had women making up more than 40 percent of their parliaments.
Model laws
The regional legislature could help get the SADC’s 26 protocols made into national laws.
What are the hurdles and how can they be overcome?
There is bound to be apprehension that the SADC parliament could be a charade. That is mainly because it is expected to respect the sovereignty of member
states.
The 41st SADC summit in 2021 decided to initially establish the parliament as a “consultative and deliberative body” with no law-making or other binding authority.
The Summit of Heads of State is responsible for the overall policy direction and control of functions of the regional body.
Lack of legislative and oversight power will hamstring the parliament’s ability to scrutinise SADC institutions.
Furthermore, all member states support the principle of non-interference in their internal affairs.
So, there is tension between national sovereignty and the task of promoting peace, human rights and democracy in member states.
The Pan-African Parliament has the same weakness.
The SADC parliament will have a delicate job: to protect national sovereignty and human rights in pursuit of regional integration and development.
The next steps
Advocate Jacob Mudenda, the Speaker of Parliament of Zimbabwe, who chairs the SADC Parliamentary Forum lobby group, expects the SADC Transformation Protocol to be adopted at the 44th SADC summit in Zimbabwe on August 17, 2024. The protocol will set out the mandate, powers and functions of the SADC parliament and the road map to establishing it.
For the protocol to enter into force, two-thirds of the member states must ratify or sign the agreement.
The four that have not done so yet — Botswana, Comoros, Madagascar and Mauritius — can accede to it later.
Dr Gwinyayi Albert Dzinesa is also a senior international relations and diplomacy lecturer at Africa University, Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter