The Caucus Chairpersons of the five Regional Caucuses in the Pan-African
Parliament (PAP) have expressed serious concern over what they described as the continued violation of the PAP Protocol
and Rules of Procedure by the 2nd Vice President of PAP, Hon. Dr. Ashebir W. Gayo.
This was contained in a letter to the
Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat dated 19 December 2023 with reference PAP/REGCAU/07/12-23 and signed by all the
five regional Chairpersons namely Hon.
Alhagie Mbow, Western Caucus Chairperson; Hon. Pemmy Majodina, Southern Caucus Chairperson; Hon. Jaynet Kabila, Central Caucus
Chairperson; Hon. Terrence Mondon, Eastern
Caucus Chairperson, and Hon. Abdelmajid
Azzedine, Northern Caucus Chairperson, in which they drew Moussa Faki Mahamat’s attention to the sustained
defilement of Commission’s directives, the PAP Protocol, the PAP Rules of
Procedure and the tenets of good corporate governance by the 2nd
Vice President Hon.
Dr. Ashebir W. Gayo.
The
letter recalled that on the 18 October 2023, the AUC Chairperson had dispatched
a memo to the Clerk of the Pan-African Parliament, Ms. Lindiwe Khumalo advising of the interim arrangements for the
continued operation of the PAP pending the finalization of the mission of the
Task Force that had been appointed to enquire into the challenges at the PAP.
The said memo clarified that:
i.
“The current membership of the Bureau,
comprising the 2nd and 3rd Vice Presidents, does not have
the requisite quorum and, accordingly, cannot make binding administrative,
financial and management decisions on the affairs and facilities of PAP and its
Organs until the Bureau has the appropriate quorum;”
ii.
“Any such decisions taken by the
inquorate Bureau should be considered invalid and cannot be implemented to
safeguard the African Union from potential liability;”
iii.
“Pending
the finalization of the mission and the resultant transitional measures to be
proposed, the Clerk of the Pan-African Parliament Secretariat was authorized to
take administrative, financial and management decisions subject, where
appropriate, to the approval of the Chairperson of the African Union
Commission.”
The letter
regretted that the above directives have been consistently disregarded by the 2nd
Vice President as demonstrated by the actions and unilateral decisions that he
has taken prior to and afer the issuance of the said 18 October 2023 AUC memo
and include:
1.
“Suspended
the Clerk of the Parliament, Ms. Lindiwe
Khumalo for refusing to implement the unlawful directives issued by Hon. Dr. Gayo. He also barred her from
the precincts of the PAP and has refused to reinstate her despite the said AUC directive.
Such unlawful conduct and administratve action create potential legal and
reputational risks and liabilities for the Union;
2.
“Dismissed
the Director of the Bureau and the Policy Officer in flagrant disregard of
procedure and has appointed a temporary Director of the Bureau and Policy
Officer which an Acting President is not entitled to;
3.
“Undermined
the authority of the Task Force and by extension, the Chairperson of the
Commission by barring the Task Force from the precincts of the Pan-African
Parliament during its fact-finding mission to the PAP for refusing to comply
with his directive not to interview the Clerk, Regional Caucus Chairpersons and
Members of the Bureau;
4.
“Appointed
the Chairperson of the Committee on Audit and Public Accounts (CAPA), Hon. Miles Sampa as Chairperson of
APROB, a position exclusively reserved for Bureau Members. This appointmenmt
violates the principles of good corporate governance and separation of
responsibilities as CAPA is supposed to audit the activities of APROB;
5.
“Convened
Committee Meetings in three different countries namely Ethiopia, South Africa,
and Burundi from 20th to 24th November 2023 without a
Bureau Resolution;
6.
“Unilaterally
convened the Women’s Conference from 26th to 27th
December 2023 in the absence of a fully quorate Bureau and during the festive
period when most Parliaments will be on recess; and
7.
“Scheduled
a Virtual Meeting on 28th December to discuss the Draft Code of
Conduct for by-election to fill in “vacant” positions on the Bureau and is
planning to convene a virtual elective session on 7th January 2024.
It is instructive to note that neither the PAP Protocol nor the Rules of Procedure
(2011) provide for election for returning Bureau Members. These two legal
instruments also do not have a provision for virtual sessions. In this regard,
therefore, the planned convening of a virtual meeting is unprocedural and no legal
obligations arise from such an illegality. Virtual sittings were codified in
the Amended Rules of Procedure (2022) which Your Excellency suspended.”
The
Regional Caucus Chairpersons noted with grave concern, that all the decisions
made by the 2nd Vice President, Hon.
Dr. Gayo acting as a “sole” Bureau Member and in clear violation of the
Commission’s directives, “bring into serious disrepute, the credibility and
good name of the African Union and its various organs. The abiding principles
of transparency, accountability, and responsible governance have been seriously
compromised by such actions. The damage to the Union cannot be enumerated as we
continue to field questions from the citizenry, stakeholders, partners and even
our national Parliaments on the situation at PAP which we do not have the right
answers and/ or explanations for.”
“Additionally,
the 2nd Vice President’s actions undermine the process Your
Excellency had initiated to resolve the situation at PAP through the Task Force
which is yet to complete its mission. As Regional Caucus Chairpersons, though
we may have our misgivings, yet we respect the process that Your Excellency has
conceptualized and are awaiting the outcome of the Task Force’s fact-finding
mission.”
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