H. E. Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang, PAP President |
The
Pan African Parliament (PAP) on Wednesday adopted the “Report of the Committee
on Monetary and Financial Affairs on the Pan African Parliament’s Proposed
Budget for the Financial Year 2020”, presented by the Committee Chairman, Hon.
Mike Temple (Eswatini).
According
to the report which was unanimously adopted after a robust debate, the continental parliament’s total
budget for 2020 is US$20,798,521 compared to the total approved budget for 2019
of US$18,510,115. The total operational budget for 2019 was US$11,749,132 while
the proposed operational budget for 2020 is US$12,405,995 an increase of 6%.
A
breakdown of the operational budget shows that staff cost is $10,146.630 while
the Missions and Hospitality, made up of: mission of members of the Bureau;
mission of parliamentarians; Mission of Staff of the Secretariat; and
Hospitality is allocated $1,344,395 an increase of 7% over the 2019 approved
budget.
Hon.
Temple noted that the "missions are aimed at the ratification of the Revised PAP
Protocol which is expected to reduce and most of the parliamentary work will be
implemented through the budget lines under Programmes Budget".
Speaking
on the Budget Framework, Hon. Temple stated that the budget is informed by the "African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 but more specifically, the Pan African
Parliament’s Strategic Plan 2019 – 2022. The strategic objectives are the main
focus and funding is directed towards achievement of:
Strengthening
parliamentary legislative functions of PAP.
· Provide a platform to mainstream African
voices and those in in the diaspora into the AU policy making process.
·
Promote Human Rights, Democracy and Good
Governance in Africa
·
Promote Peace and Stability
·
Promote integration and stability in
Africa, and
·
Strengthen the institutional capacities of
the PAP.
Hon.
Temple expressed concern that this is the second year running that the AU’s
budget has not been submitted to the Parliament for deliberation and then
appealed to the African Union Commission (AUC) to submit to his Committee, the
Union’s budget timeously to allow for its review and presentation to the
plenary.
Concluding,
Hon. Temple condemned the humiliation that PAP goes through in having to
present its budget to the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) which is
made up of representatives of the member states to the AU. The ambassadors who
constitute the PRC are mainly career civil servants without national
legislative experience describing it as “belittling” He noted that although the
Assembly of the Heads of State and Government had in 2017, decided that the
Rules of Procedure for the PRC should be amended, the PRC was yet to implement the
decision.
Parliamentarians
who contributed to the debate, commended the Committee for a job well done and then added their voice in condemning a practice where ambassadors who had to
prostrate before their various national assemblies to get confirmed, now turn around to treat
them in a manner that is belittling.
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