The President of the Pan African Parliament (PAP), H.
E. Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang has called on Africans to show solidarity and work in
unity, regretting that the “continent is torn within by social movements, poor
economic performance, climate change, terrorism, violent extremism and the
keeping of dubious relationships with certain foreign powers”.
Hon. Nkodo Dang who made the call while presenting his
opening speech at the recently concluded Second Ordinary Session of the PAP,
observed that instead of helping to stabilize African states and promoting
their development, some foreign powers are rather involved in sustaining
conflicts that serve their geo-strategic interests.
According to Nkodo Dang, “The common denominator of the
peaceful social movements in Algeria and the Sudan is the dichotomy between the
potential spectre of violent Islamism and the people’s well-being claimed by
these movements.”
“It is also important to ensure that Africa reaps the
benefits of its potential while fully realizing that national and foreign
investment, trade, prosperity, production and innovation of the African
economies cannot materialize without security and stability”.
“In addition, access to health care, electricity and
running water for all, would remain wishful thinking if we do not eradicate
forced population movements, which hinder the development of our nations and
foment instability by allowing trafficking of all kinds at our borders, and all
forms of extremism”.
“Africa is facing many challenges resulting from
climate imbalances including drought, famine, food shortages, mass
displacements and rampant desertification”.
“It was with great consternation that we witnessed the
tragedy of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which ravaged parts of Mozambique,
Malawi, Zimbabwe and the Comoros, leaving in its wake, thousands dead and
hundreds of thousands homeless and exposed to climate vagaries and insecurity”.
He paid tribute to all “the worthy daughters and sons
of Africa who lost their lives in these disasters” and then extended the
Parliament’s sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the
countries that have suffered such heavy losses.
Hon. Nkodo Dang announced that in the spirit of
solidarity, “the Pan African Parliament has started taking action, under the
able leadership of its President and with the direct involvement of Dr. Bryline
Chitsunge, the PAP Food Security Ambassador, as well as the mobilization of our
partners, to bring relief to our brothers and sisters affected by the
disaster”.
He reminded the Parliamentarians that the African Union
has declared 2019 as the “Year of
refugees, returnees, and internally displaced persons in Africa: towards
durable solutions to forced displacement in Africa” , noting that the issue
is of paramount importance “for our nations and peoples, because of all the
ills inflicted on mankind, the suffering of refugees, displaced by conflicts,
guerrilla wars, natural disasters or social and political conflicts, is the
most cruel, inhumane and degrading”
“Faced with this scourge, we must strive to unite,
rather than divide, so as to find solutions to the ills besetting our
continent” and urged the parliamentarians to promote multilateralism, which he
described as the only thing that is able to provide a common and unified answer
to this problem faced by our continent.
“We must be rallying point for intra-African
solidarity, which places the dignity of our fellow citizens at the heart of its
social project, defends their right to integration and freedom of movement, and
also defends them against the devious ambitions of those who exploit them with
the aim to destabilize and perpetuate violence”.
He noted that the issue of refugees was a global one
where the cooperation of everyone is needed to seek lasting solutions and
encouraged the need to watch over the destinies of our continent as well as
continue the African tradition of tolerance and peace.
“At this juncture, we wish to extend our sincere
condolences to the victims of terrorism, a global scourge which spares neither
the individual nor country. Our thoughts especially go to Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, Canada, Mali, Niger, New Zealand, Nigeria and Sri Lanka where
thousands of people have died tragically because of hatred and religious
extremism”.
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