The
Executive Council of the African Union has directed a reconsideration of the
2023 budget of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to enable the Parliament to
meet its institutional and operational needs and to effectively fulfill its
mandate.
This
was one of the decisions taken at the 42nd Ordinary Session of the Executive
Council, 15-16 February 2023, Addis Ababa Ethiopia EX.CL/Dec.1198(XLII).
The
directive followed the consideration of the Activity Report of the Pan-African
Parliament, including the Resolutions and Recommendations adopted during its
October 2022 Ordinary Session.
PAP was
commended for the resumption of work following the June 2022 elections of the
Bureau and also appreciated for the activities implemented by the Parliament
within a short time period in 2022, in spite of limited budgetary resources,
especially the proposed Model Law on Food and Nutrition Security, in
furtherance of the African Union theme of the Year 2022.
The
Executive Council also congratulated the PAP and the PRC for holding a
successful joint Retreat, in Johannesburg on 19 - 20 December 2022, in line
with Executive Council Decisions EX.CL/Dec.1174(XLI) and EX.CL/Dec.1028(XXXII).
It
would be recalled that Executive Council had directed the PRC to hold a Retreat
with the PAP, “to address all the
concerns and challenges that affect the delivery and operations of the Organ.”
The identified challenges included lack of adequate resources to enhance
PAP’s performance. This implies that PAP can’t be as effective
as it should with the current budgetary allocations to the institution. This
was echoed during a
presentation by the Chairperson of PAP’s Committee on Monetary and Financial
Matters, Hon. Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka who highlighted funding
challenges in some of the PAP budget categories. He regretted that PAP’s
budget had gone down from being 12% of the total AU Budget in 2016 to less than
2% of the total AU Budget in 2023, a situation that raises a great deal of
concern. He disclosed that PAP’s budget
for 2023 did not make provision for many issues. For example, PAP’s Sessions
would be shortened, and Committees, considered the engine rooms, will be unable
to meet or conduct any business.
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