Pan-African Parliament adopts 2025 Budget and Model Law on Cooperatives

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) on Monday adopted reports on the “Pan-African Parliament Proposed Budget for 2025/ Budget Allocation for 2025” and the “Draft Model Law on Cooperatives presented by the Chairperson of the Committee on Monetary and Financial Affairs, Hon. Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka.

Hon. Muntaka, disclosed that the Committee developed a budget proposal of $25,195,192 but that based on the discussions that have since taken place, “the Committee would like to inform the House to take note of our expected budget for 2025 by the Union’s policy organs in readiness for submission to the Executive Council is $10,114,278 made up of Operational budget of $9,342,804 and Programme budget of $771,474.

Reviewing the budget performance for 2023, Hon. Muntaka drew the attention of the parliamentarians to the fact although a budget of $25,195,592 was submitted for consideration by the policy organs of the African Union, what was eventually approved was $10,570,625 which he said resulted in the underfunding of the Parliament’s activities.

He stated that the overall funding of the Parliament’s budget was below expectations of the parliament’s activities. Parliament is run through Committees and where Committees cannot embark their programmes due to lack of funding, this greatly undermines the work of Parliament.

“As we proceed into next year, my dear colleagues, unless drastic intervention is undertaken at the Executive Council and/ or Heads of State level, PAP may be headed to eventual closure”

“Last year, I made a passionate appeal to the Head of Finance to look into the fundingnof the Pan-African Parliament (PAP). The feedback I received was that a lot of strides had been made and the Finance Department at the AUC was in the process of extending some level of goodwill to the PAP. As this was still under discussion, we ourselves killed that very hope. I am aware that the Bureau have made several passionate appeals at various policy meetings to no avail.”

Hon Muntaka also presented a draft Model Law on Cooperatives for Africa for consideration by the Parliament.  He stated that a Model Law is a detailed set of provisions embodying international and recommended/ best standards on a particular subject designed  to serve as template or guide to national laws to be adopted or  revised. Being a supra-national guide, a model law can be used in full, or adjusted or adapted to suit specific needs.

He noted that on the basis of the power vested on PAP by Article 11(3) and (7) of the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Pan-African Parliament and Rule 4(d) and € of PAP Rules of Procedure, PAP had developed several model laws in a wide range of areas, including Policing in Africa; Disability; Food and Nutrition Security and on Double Taxation.

The Committee agreed to develop an African model law on the cooperative model due to its potential of empowering people socially and economically noting that one of the ways of achieving the objectives of the African Union is through harnessing the collective efforts of various associations of the people of Africa and their governments.