Tenth Ordinary Session of the PAP

(Press Release)--The main agenda for the Pan African Parliament (PAP) in the coming Session is the review of the Protocol establishing the PAP. Hon. Dr Gertrude Mongella, the President of the PAP, stated that it was imperative that PAP Members should start reading the existing Protocol so that when they return for the Eleventh Ordinary Session, they would make recommendations that would make their institution a strong one.

She mentioned that, as PAP, they did not have to wait for the African Union (AU) Conference to review the Protocol before they deliberated on the issue. ‘What we are doing is becoming proactive. We don’t want to be left behind, which is why we ushered the revision in advance. We’ll be well-prepared during the conference. The Protocol doesn’t belong to us, we are its users. It belongs to the AU. However, we have a right to air our views on the Protocol because it affects us as its users,’ she said.

Hon. Mongella made these remarks during the official closing of the Tenth Ordinary Session of the PAP, which began on October 27, 2008. It was officially opened by the Chairperson of the African Union, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.

She urged Members that when the PAP meets in the Eleventh Session next year, they should be giving proper recommendations. She said her pre-occupation would be convincing the AU that the conference to review the Protocol be convened as soon as possible. ‘There are paragraphs in the Protocol that don’t empower the PAP to the maximum. There is also non-definition of the terms of tenure. Some Members can stay for a few months and for others it’s not clear. The tenure has to be clearly defined. We should not just assume that the term is five years. Sometimes we have had disagreements with the AU where we have been treated like civil servants yet we are not,’ she said.

The President stated that she stood for democracy and was not willing to go back on these principles. She also warned about double standards among the Members. ‘We’ll not entertain any hidden agenda. We don’t promote divisions. The ground is open for everybody. We don’t have to go behind closed doors to make our views. We must make them in openness not in darkness,’ she warned.

As a parting shot, the President expressed hope that those Members who would be contesting elections in their countries would be successful. About 12 countries are expected to go to the polls next year.

In a press conference after the Session, Hon. Mongella warned African states that the PAP will not tolerate ‘negotiated democracies’. Hon. Mongella said a worrying trend was developing in Africa where leaders who are defeated during elections resort to negotiations to prolong their stay in power. She said this was not good for democracy and the PAP condemned it.

Hon. Mongella said that, however, sometimes these negotiated settlements were necessary, particularly in cases where they would avert bloodshed. She cited the case of Kenya, where warring factions stopped after a power sharing deal was signed between President Kibaki and Raila Odinga.

<< Back to main