At the Workshop on Result-Based Planning, Management,
Budgeting, Reporting, and Domestication of the Second Ten Year Implementation
Plan of Agenda 2063, held on Friday, September 13, 2024, members of the Pan-African
Parliament (PAP) made critical contributions, calling for enhanced transparency
and strategic alignment of the African Union’s (AU) monitoring and evaluation
systems. The session was marked by calls to revise the African Monitoring,
Evaluation, and Reporting Tool (AMERT) methodology and ensure the framework
better reflects the PAP's mandate under Article 17 of the AU’s Constitutive Act
and Article 11 of the PAP Protocol.
The contributions emphasized that the evaluation
framework must be designed to align with the PAP’s specific objectives as
envisioned during its establishment, ensuring that reporting and management
systems are robust and tailored to the institution’s unique role.
Senator Danson
Mungatana’s Call for PAP Involvement in AU Chairperson Election
Kenya’s delegation leader to the PAP, Senator
Danson Mungatana, stressed the importance of giving the PAP a central
role in electing the next Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC).
With the election scheduled for February 2025, Mungatana underscored the need for candidates to present their
vision directly to African citizens through their elected representatives in
the PAP.
Citing Article 17 of the AU’s Constitutive Act,
which established the PAP as a forum for people’s participation in continental
affairs, Mungatana argued that
aspiring AUC Chairpersons should use the PAP platform to communicate their
vision for Africa’s future. “This engagement must be televised,” he insisted,
as part of promoting transparency and accountability in African Union
leadership elections.
He also advocated for the PAP’s participation in the
AU’s budget-making process, noting that it is "wrong to exclude the
representatives of the African people" from such critical decisions. Mungatana further highlighted the importance
of domestication of Agenda 2063, noting that as it was not
developed within the PAP, the document should be domesticated in national
parliaments through a formal motion.
Hon. Esther Passaris on
Accountability and Population Challenges
Also contributing to the debate was Hon. Esther
Passaris, another member of the Kenyan delegation. She emphasized the
need for accountability in the implementation of Agenda 2063. Passaris raised
concerns about the absence of a comprehensive report on the first ten years of
the plan. “How can we be talking about the next ten years of Agenda 2063 when
we do not have the report of the last ten years?” she queried, calling for a
detailed evaluation of the progress made so far.
Hon. Passaris
also turned her focus to Africa’s demographic potential, expressing
disappointment that Africa’s vast population has not been effectively leveraged
for development. “We need to address population challenges,” she urged,
suggesting that concrete plans are required to harness the continent’s
demographic dividend.
Like Senator
Mungatana, Hon. Passaris
supported the demand for PAP’s involvement in the AU budgetary process, arguing
that the representatives of the African people, as provided for in Article
17 of the Constitutive Act, should be part of key decision-making
processes.
On the AUC Chairperson election, Hon. Passaris echoed Senator
Mungatana’s sentiments, advocating for candidates to present their
platforms to the PAP. She asserted that it was “fair and reasonable” for those
seeking leadership positions to engage with elected representatives to share
their vision for the continent’s future.
In a striking remark, Passaris also lamented the absence of discussions around
corruption, an issue she felt should be prioritized on the continent’s agenda.
Reforms Toward a More
Transparent AU
Overall, the workshop underscored a growing consensus
within the Pan-African Parliament on the need to re-evaluate and enhance the
mechanisms guiding African Union processes. By advocating for the domestication
of Agenda 2063, PAP involvement in the AU budget, and transparency in AUC
leadership elections, members are pushing for reforms that will solidify the
role of PAP in Africa’s governance structures.
The debate showcased the commitment of PAP members to
ensuring that the institution’s mandate is not sidelined and that its powers,
as articulated under Article 11 of the PAP Protocol, are fully recognized in
driving Africa’s long-term vision of unity, prosperity, and sustainable
development through Agenda 2063.
The session marked a pivotal moment in the dialogue on
how the Pan-African Parliament can better fulfill its role as the voice of the
African people within the broader African Union governance framework.
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