Pan-African Parliament set to revise Rules of Procedure as it holds October Session

The First Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is expected to take place from Monday October 24 to Friday November 11, 2022 at the Parliament’s Headquarters in Midrand, South Africa.

The Session will be guided by the African Union theme of 2022 “Building resilience in nutrition on the African continent: Accelerate the human capital, social and economic development.”

According to the draft program for the Session, the first week (Monday October 24 to Saturday October 29) will be devoted to consultations by Members of Parliament in their respective Regional Caucuses to make proposals for amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament.

The revision of PAP’s Rules of Procedure is necessitated by the recent decisions of the policy organs of the African Union (AU) which resolved the issue of the rotation of the presidency of the Parliament and the need to incorporate those decisions into the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.

It would also be recalled that as part of the AU Reforms, the Assembly of  Heads of State or Government of the AU which the Supreme Organ in February 2020, directed that the rules of procedure of all the organs and institutions of the AU should be realigned to bring them in line with the respective institution’s original mandate as contained in the Constitutive Act of the AU.

Elected on June 29, 2022 after the leadership crisis that led to the suspension of parliamentary activities, the new Bureau headed by H. E. Hon. Chief Fortune Charumbira commenced the process of revising the rules as one its first assignments to ensure compliance with the decisions of the policy organs of the AU as well as ensure that the issues that led to the previous crisis are addressed thereby creating an environment for the parliament to fulfill its mandate as envisioned by the founders of the African Union.

Meetings of Regional Caucuses to consider and make drafting proposals for amendment will hold on Monday while a joint meeting of all the Regional Caucuses to consider proposals will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Chairpersons of the Regional Caucuses will present their drafting proposals to a joint meeting of the caucuses later on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Permanent Committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline will meet to consider the drafting proposals submitted by the Regional Caucuses. The meeting will continue to Friday after which drafting instructions will be given to a team of experts assembled for that purpose. Then the revised Rules of Procedure will thereafter be presented to the plenary for approval.

On Thursday afternoon, the Bureau is also expected to meet with African Union Ambassadors designated to the Republic of South Africa to brief them on the preparations for the session.

Official Opening Session. The official opening of the First Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament is expected to take place as stated on Monday  October 31 2022. The President of the Parliament, H.E Hon. Chief Fortune Charumbira, is expected to present the Opening Statement to be followed by the swearing in of new members.

There will also be Statements and messages of solidarity by former United States President, His Excellency Bill Clinton who is the Special Guest, to be followed by another Special Guest, United Nations Secretary-General, His Excellency Antonio Guterres. The Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Republic of Senegal, His Excellency Macky Sall will be the Guest of Honour.

The next day Tuesday November 1 will witness the Presentation and debate on the Performance Review Report of the PAP activities since the election of the new Bureau. Thereafter, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H. E.  Moussa Faki Mahamat is expected to present a State of the Union Address to the African Parliamentarians.

Other highlights of the Session will include a High-Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance in Africa under the theme: “Unconstitutional changes in government and political transitions in Africa”. The 13th Conference on Women’s Rights is also expected to take place on the margins of the Ordinary Session, focusing on “Women empowerment and inclusion in governance.”

Additionally, the various Permanent Committees of the PAP will present various reports for debate and adoption by the plenary, following successful deliberations during the August Sittings of the Permanent Committees. These include a report on the PAP Workshop on the AU theme for 2022; a report on the status of peace and security in Africa; a debate on the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA); as well as recommendations and resolutions on Labour Migration in Africa.

Always count on your favourite online newspaper dedicated to parliamentary news, www.africanparliamentarynews.com to provide you with detailed gavel-to-gavel coverage of the proceedings.