Pan-African Parliament and South African Parliament Hold Joint Workshop on G20 Presidency and Africa’s Strategic Priorities

In a show of continental collaboration and strategic foresight, the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), in partnership with the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, convened a ground-breaking Joint Workshop on South Africa’s G20 Presidency and Africa’s Strategic Priorities. Held on the sidelines of the Fifth Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament at the PAP precincts in Midrand, this symposium marked a pivotal moment in Africa’s pursuit of a unified voice in global governance.

Chaired by H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of PAP, and co-chaired by Hon. Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, Chairperson of South Africa’s National Council of Provinces (NCOP), whose remark was delivered by Hon. Cedric Frolick, the workshop gathered lawmakers, experts, and committee leaders to align parliamentary diplomacy with Africa’s G20 aspirations. The theme, "Harnessing Parliamentary Diplomacy for the Realization of Global Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability", echoed the urgency to advance Africa’s developmental voice within multilateral platforms.

A Strategic Moment for Africa

In his opening address, H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira emphasized that South Africa’s chairmanship of the G20 is not merely a national honour, but a continental responsibility. He described the workshop as a forum to “sensitize African Parliamentarians under the ambit of the Pan-African Parliament on South Africa’s G20 leadership and to seek input into what you envisage should be South Africa’s priorities.”

With South Africa as the sole African voice in the G20, a bloc controlling over 80% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population, Chief Charumbira urged the Pan-African Parliament to seize this platform as a lever to influence the world’s most powerful economies on Africa’s terms. He outlined how PAP can play a vital role in shaping South Africa’s G20 engagement by amplifying grassroots voices, ensuring accountability to Agenda 2063 and the AfCFTA, and bridging global governance with African realities.

A Call for Purpose-Driven Parliamentary Diplomacy

Delivering remarks on behalf of Hon. Mtshweni-Tsipane, Hon. Cedric Frolick warned that “this is not just another event. It is a call to shape the future with clarity, purpose, and unity.” He challenged African parliaments to go beyond symbolic attendance at global summits and instead forge robust, coherent, and inclusive African positions on issues such as climate resilience, trade justice, agriculture, and technology.

“We must challenge external narratives that continue to frame Africa through outdated development models,” Frolick stressed, calling for parliamentary diplomacy that reflects the lived realities of African people, especially the youth, women, and marginalized communities.

Plenary Sessions: From Dialogue to Policy Positions

The day’s proceedings were structured into three high-impact plenary sessions that unpacked Africa’s core priorities for the G20.

1. Trade Justice and Improved Global Market Access for African Agricultural Products

Led by Hon. B. Radebe (House Chairperson: International Relations, NCOP, Parliament of RSA) and Hon. Sen. Jean Bideri (Chairperson, Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration matters, PAP), this session addressed structural barriers such as tariffs, subsidies, non-tariff barriers, and climate-driven sanitary regulations that inhibit Africa’s agricultural competitiveness. The discussions acknowledged that while Africa remains a net importer of food, it holds massive export potential through diversified, climate-smart, and value-added agricultural products.

The speakers highlighted unfair EU and U.S. trade practices  such as citrus import restrictions, the collapse of AGOA preferences, and EU’s deforestation regulations which disproportionately hurt smallholder farmers. Members called on African parliaments to actively engage G20 counterparts, push for multilateral climate-trade diplomacy, and increase intra-African agricultural trade under the AfCFTA framework.

2. Climate Resilience and Adaptation: Operationalising the Nairobi Declaration

Chaired by Hon. Cedric Frolick (House Chairperson: Committees, Parliament of RSA) and Hon. G. Sakata (Chairperson, Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Pan African Parliament), this session emphasized climate finance justice and the integration of grassroots voices in adaptation strategies. Members underscored the urgency of leveraging South Africa’s G20 seat to advocate for a fair global climate finance architecture that accounts for Africa’s historic vulnerabilities and development needs.

PAP’s role was framed as a channel for grassroots demands from pastoralist communities to coastal settlements, to feed into G20 deliberations. Speakers called for investments in climate-resilient infrastructure, agricultural innovation, and inclusive adaptation financing.

3. Addressing Predatory Mining and Promoting Ethical Resource Governance

This session was perhaps the most forceful in tone, with participants demanding an end to the exploitation of Africa’s mineral wealth through extractive contracts that enrich foreign entities while impoverishing local communities.

Drawing from expert remarks and AU frameworks such as the Africa Mining Vision (AMV 2.0) and APRM governance findings, participants painted a sobering picture of mining-induced ecological devastation, revenue loss, and illicit financial flows. They urged PAP to lead legislative harmonization, demand binding corporate due diligence standards globally, and enact local content laws that centre African communities and ecosystems.

Outcomes and the Path Ahead

The workshop culminated in the endorsement of a Joint Communiqué that commits both PAP and the South African Parliament to a coordinated platform of engagement in the lead-up to the October 2025 G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20).

Chief Charumbira proposed the institutionalization of a Continental Compact comprising pre-G20 consultations, a PAP advisory council, and structured briefings between South Africa’s G20 delegation and PAP to ensure South Africa’s G20 role is both inclusive and accountable to African interests.

A Moment Not to Be Missed

The Joint Workshop served as a critical platform for reasserting Africa’s agency in global affairs. As PAP President Charumbira noted, “Africa does not wait to be invited , it must claim its seat, not as a recipient of policy but as a partner in shared prosperity, peace, and progress.”

By leveraging the power of parliamentary diplomacy, aligning national and continental priorities, and drawing from lived African realities, the Pan-African Parliament and South African legislature are poised to shape G20 deliberations with unprecedented coherence and clarity. The message is unequivocal: Africa’s future must be written by Africans and parliaments must be its pen.