PAP Should Be Firm on African Leaders

Nana Agyeman Birikorang - A Member of the Pan African Parliament from Liberia, Hon. Euggene Kparkar, has charged the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to be very firm and decisive on issues confronting Africa whenever they have encounters with the Heads of State. He said “even though PAP must be commended for sending election observer missions to both Kenya and Zimbabwe, African leaders must be told in the face that too much of staying in power brews conflict. Therefore, they must always prepare their minds to vacate the presidential seats whenever their time is due”.

Hon. Kparkar made these remarks during his contribution to the debate that followed the presentation on Peace and Security in Africa presented by the Chairman of the Committee on Cooperation, International Relations and Conflict Resolution, Hon. El Hadj Diao Kante at the second sitting of the Ninth Ordinary Session of PAP in South Africa.

To him, most of the problems confronting the African continent in recent times are obviously caused by the Presidents who are so adamant in implementing recommendations presented to by their fellow African stakeholders but rather bow to decisions from the Western counterparts.

"Africa has lost its key to prosperity and has sadly forgotten about where it lost it. The problems of Africa require African solutions. Therefore, our heads of state must not search for the solution from the Western countries" he stated.

On the other hand, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Kante, who is also a Member of the Republic of Guinea Parliament, was of the view that PAP cannot hold African Presidents entirely to their words since PAP has no such powers. He said that until its transformation from an advisory and consultative organ into a fully fledged legislative organ of the AU, PAP will only perform within its mandate.

Briefing the House on conflict situations in some of the African countries, Hon. Kante cited that the situation in the south of Sudan is characterised by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and its implementation. He gave accounts on the confrontation between the CPA parties. He said since October 2007, there have been some significant developments with regard to the implementation of the CPA, all of which are not positive. Hon. Kante explained further that on October 11, 2007 the Sudan’s People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) suspended its participation in the Government of National Unity and withdrew its cabinet ministers and SPLM advisors in the Presidency.

He mentioned some of the prominent grievances on the list of SPLM pertaining to the Abyei Protocol and the redeployment of troops to the respective boundaries as stipulated by the CPA, and the delay in the demarcation of the north-south borders, the lack of initiation of national reconciliation and healing process, the non-completion of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) redeployment, lack of transparency in oil sectors operations, inadequate funding of the census process and the lack of action on the re-shuffle list submitted by SPLM to the Government of National Unity. He emphasised that since then the political situation has been somewhat diffused and the SPLM have returned to the government.

Other conflict situations prevailing in Africa he touched on include Darfur, Chad, Central African Republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Cote d’Ivoire and the status of decolonisation in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

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