PAP Deliberations

(NEPAD Dialogue)—Thirty new members from six countries were sworn in at the opening of the 9th ordinary session of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), which will continue until 16 May. The countries are Somalia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Zambia, Togo and Djibouti. Each member country of the African Union is entitled to five members in the PAP, based in Midrand, South Africa.

The President of PAP, Dr. Gertrude Mongella, noted that the session marks the institution’s fifth year of existence and that an assessment has to be carried out on its operation and effectiveness.

Dr. Mongella said the review is also an opportunity to check on the capacity of the staff members to carry out the responsibilities that will usher the Parliament into a new phase.

PAP was established in March 2004 as an organ of the African Union to promote peace, security and stability, and facilitate cooperation and development in Africa.

On the second day of the 9th session PAP went into debate on peace and security in Africa. The house was divided with some members saying that Africa’s problems could only be solved by Africans themselves, while some questioned the core causes of conflict on the continent.

The debate started with a presentation by the Chairman of the Permanent Committee on Cooperation, International Relations and Conflict Resolution, El Hadj Diao Kante, from Guinea.

His report covered conflict situations and peace processes in Sudan’s Darfur region, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia , Ivory Coast and the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Sunil Dowarkasing from Mauritius described the continued conflict as worrisome, warning that the sovereignty of many states was at stake. He expressed concern that conflicts in Africa may lead to divisions and urged the African Union to act quickly.

Keletso Rakhudu from Botswana said the rest of Africa could learn from the experience of Southern African states on conflict prevention.

He referred to the refusal to allow the Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe to dock in South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia last month. He noted that these states were thus able to prevent a potential conflict in Zimbabwe.

Echoing similar sentiments, Maria Angelina Enoque from Mozambique said the PAP should condemn in the strongest terms member states that buy weapons of war while the citizens were suffering.

Tsudao Gurirab from Namibia said the African Union should move away from the principle of non-intervention, stressing that intervention could go a long way in combating conflict in Africa.

A South African parliamentarian, Fatima Hajale, said the time had come for the PAP to shift the focus on peace and security to human security rather than state security. Conflict was escalating because of failure by certain states to provide protection for their citizens, she said.

A Zambian MP, Maynard Misapa, argued that factors that contribute to conflict on the continent included a lack of a common religion and abuse of human rights.

Turning to the situation in Zimbabawe, the PAP observer mission concluded that the environment was conducive for holding an election.

Presenting the report to the house the leader of mission, Swaziland MP Marwick Khumalo, said that the irregularities that were detected up to the election day were not sufficient to compromise the electoral process.

However, the mission expressed concern about the delay in releasing the results. Khumalo told the house that the mission communicated this concern twice to the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

The mission recommended to the house that the situation in Zimbabwe be closely monitored and that the African Union jointly with the SADC should make a timeous intervention before the situation was out of control.

Khumalo told the house that in the event of a run-off the PAP should send a mission to observe the completion of the presidential election process.

He said the only option that could ease the undesirable situation in Zimbabwe was for President Robert Mugabe and MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai to share power to curb the suffering and human rights violations in the country.

(Speaking to the media later, Khumalo said he doubted that the run-off would bring any change. He said the PAP did not yet have the legislative power to effectively address this situation and could only act in an advisory capacity).

The house then discussed the recent elections in Kenya.

Presenting the report of the election observer mission, the head of the mission, Julianna Kantangwe, said there was no transparency during the counting of votes and criticised the Kenya Electoral Commission.

The mission expressed disappointment that the people of Kenya were deprived of what would have been a peaceful election.

The PAP observer mission hoped that the contending parties would reach a compromise and that Kenya would make this a top priority.

It recommended that the Kenya Electoral Commission be encouraged to conduct future elections in a more transparent manner and include all political stakeholders.

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