By Binta Jaiteh
Honorable Allagie Mbow, a member of the National Assembly for Upper Saloum, on Thursday, presented a draft report of the Gambian Delegation to the Second Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament of the Pan -African Parliament held in Midrandat the Republic of South Africa to the National Assembly Members.
Hon Allagie Mbowe, Head of the delegation to the Sixth SixthPAP Second Ordinary Session gave the background of the Pan-African Parliament, which is the Third Organ of the African Union. He said it was established in 2004 under the provisions of Article 4(2) and (3) of the Protocol to the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Pan-African Parliament.
He said the Treaty stipulates that “Each State shall be represented in the Pan-African Parliament by five members, at least one of whom shall be a woman, and such representation shall reflect the diversity of political opinion in each Parliament or other national legislative body.”
The Pan-African Parliament is to provide a common platform for the people of Africa and their grassroots organizations to be more involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent, as well as the implementation of policies, objectives, and programmes of the African Union.
He said further that the ultimate aim is for the Parliament to be transited from not only consultative, advisory, and budget oversight over the AU but also be accorded full legislative powers through the ratification of the protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union Relating to the Pan-African Parliament (Malabo Protocol).
Speaking during the presentation the lawmaker noted that H.E., Hon Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of the Pan-African Parliament, officially declared the 2nd Ordinary Session opened with remarks that the PAP will continue to play its rightful role in the promotion of integration, peace, and stability, democracy, good governance and the rule of law by all Regional Economic Communities and Member States.
He recalled that the Pan-African Parliament, as enshrined in its vision, shall deliver the desired goals and objectives of the Union in fulfilling the aspirations of the African people.
The issue of the Parliament’s budgetary constraints for effective committee operations was a major concern discussed by the President and therefore appealed to the Chairperson of the African Union, H.E. Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of Comoros Island, to support PAP with sufficient budget to carry out its mandate effectively.
“The president highlighted that committees are unable to carry out any spot checks around the continent due to limited funding as these are needed to have first-hand information and then report to the plenary for consideration,” he stated.
Hon. Mbow further highlighted the challenges to working together as the people of Africa, and this includes high tariff revenue losses that could be realized and an uneven distribution of costs and
benefits among countries.
“African countries therefore should explore measures and flexibilities to get fair sharing of costs and benefits, for the attainment of long-term benefits of the AfCFTA” he added
According to him, the issue of high trade costs due to poor infrastructure, border procedures, and non-tariff barriers should be seriously addressed to create a single, continent-wide trade for goods and services, business, and investment that would reshape African economies.
However, a need for African governments to support workers with adequate safety nets, design policies to retrain workers, and readiness of workforces to take advantage of new opportunities. International policies, government bureaucracies, and economic woes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the implementation of the agreement, and border closure among countries is another big challenge undermining the successful implementation of AfCFTA.