Pan African Parliament conducts orientation for new members

H. E. Hon. Chief Fortune CHARUMBIRA

In readiness for the official opening of the Third Ordinary Session of the Fifth Parliament scheduled for Monday October 7, the Pan African Parliament (PAP), on Saturday conducted an orientation programme for new members at the seat the parliament in Midrand, South Africa.

The President of the Parliament, H. E. Rt. Hon. Roger Nkodo DANG who was represented by the Vice President in charge of Legislative Business and Committees, H. E. Hon. Chief Fortune CHARUMBIRA urged the new parliamentarians to see their appointment into PAP as a call for representation involving “a wider and deeper scope”.

“Your appointment to PAP is a serious appointment as only competent and capable parliamentarians are sent PAP by the National Parliaments” He said. He noted that some former members of PAP had gone on to become presidents of their countries based on the competencies developed while serving at PAP.

“We are here to seek solutions to the problems facing Africa which were either inherited from our colonial masters or caused by ourselves”.

Going down memory lane from the formation of the Organization for African Unity (OAU) in 1963 and its transformation to the African Union, Charumbira observed that African countries are still struggling with such basic issues as provision of electricity, portable water, food, good road network and other infrastructure and urged the new parliamentarians to see their appointment as an opportunity to begin to seriously address these issues.

Nigeria's parliamentary delegation to PAP at the Orientation of the orientation programme

Charumbira informed them that PAP Bureau which is responsible for the overall administration and management of the parliament, consists of five (5) members, one President and four Vice Presidents representing each of the five regions of the continent. He also informed them the PAP performs its functions through ten Permanent Committee, plus the Committee on Audit and Public Accounts which was later added and then encouraged them to indicate their choice of committee assignment, based on their competences and interests.

He urged the parliamentarians to bring with them a new culture of full participation in all PAP activities and decried a situation where members spent much of their time outside Chambers by visiting shopping malls, thereby by making it difficult for the parliament to sometimes form a quorum.

On the issue of allowances of members of parliament and provision of health insurance, Hon. Charumbira informed them that the Bureau will take up the issue with African Union in Ethiopia.

Concluding, he urged the new parliamentarians to always look at issues that come up on the floor objectively and address them based on their merit instead of looking at issues based on Anglophone or Francophone considerations.

About forty (40) new members attended the orientation programme which also had in attendance, the Acting Clerk of the Parliament, Mr. Gali Massa Harou and the Acting Deputy Clerk (Finance, Administration and Human Resources), Mrs. Charlotte Mark both of whom also made presentations.