Pan-African Parliament Bureaux Seal Agenda for 5th Ordinary Session as President Charumbira Calls for Unity and Action

In a show of institutional cohesion, the Bureau of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) joined forces on Saturday with the Bureaux of its Permanent Committees, Regional Caucuses, Women’s Caucus and Youth Caucus to adopt the agenda for the Fifth Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament, which opens officially on Monday 21 July 2025. The move signals the continental legislature’s resolve to accelerate Africa’s development, integration and good governance in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Why the Session Was Delayed

In his opening remarks, PAP President H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira tackled head-on the criticism that the Bureau had “dragged its feet.” He explained that the institution had been working with a drastically reduced “COVID-era” allocation of just US $450 000 per session, barely enough to cover interpretation and translation services, compared with the pre-pandemic norm of US $1.3 million.

Charumbira stressed that convening the session under such constraints would have been “impossible”—a budgetary fact, not a political choice. He also reminded members that the PAP Protocol only obliges the Parliament to meet twice a year, without prescribing specific months, making notions of a rules breach unfounded.

Fresh Resources Unlock the Session

Following intense lobbying of the AU’s Permanent Representatives’ Committee (PRC), PAP secured an extraordinary AU allocation of US $650 000, on top of permission to pool the remaining US $900 000 “lock-down budget” into one session. This breakthrough, Charumbira noted, restores the Parliament’s ability to conduct plenary business and to participate fully in AU activities over the coming months.

Seven-Month Bureau Extension Explained

Addressing confusion over leadership tenure, the President clarified that the AU Executive Council in February extended the current Bureau’s mandate by seven months, moving Bureau elections to February 2026. The Council acted to reconcile inconsistencies between PAP’s 2011 Rules (which imposed a fixed three-year term) and Article 12(3) of the PAP Protocol, which links each Bureau member’s tenure to his or her national parliamentary term and the principle of rotation.

From Rhetoric to Action: Outcomes of the AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting

Charumbira urged members to seize momentum from July’s Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Malabo, which called for:

·       Overhauling global financial governance to achieve African financial sovereignty;

·       Full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) after the 2025 Africa Regional Integration Report revealed sluggish progress in productive and infrastructure integration;

·       Strengthening the AU-endorsed Africa Team Roundtable to align high-impact investment programmes with Agenda 2063, while ensuring meaningful private-sector participation and PAP oversight.

Guarding PAP’s Mandate amid Institutional Reforms

With AU institutional-reform proposals due for an extraordinary summit in November, Charumbira vowed that PAP would “stand its ground” against any measure that dilutes its legislative mandate, reduces essential staff or imposes shared services that undermine parliamentary independence.

Internal Pressures: Staffing Gaps and Budget Realities

The President warned that recruitment remains frozen, leaving over two dozen vacancies, including key finance and audit posts, and that the core operating budget has shrunk from US $23 million in 2017 to just US $10.5 million, with three-quarters going to overheads. He urged MPs to lobby their foreign ministers and PRC ambassadors for a meaningful budget restoration.

Building Bridges on Peace and Security

Highlighting a recent PAP–AU Peace and Security Council retreat, Charumbira hailed the emerging partnership as proof that AU organs can break down silos and work collaboratively on the continent’s most pressing challenges, from conflict prevention to stabilisation initiatives.

A Rallying Cry for Unity

Concluding his address, the President called on all bureaux to “be guided by unity, commitment, and a sense of urgency” so that, through collective action, “we can bring about the PAP we want and the Africa we envision.”

As the gavel falls on Monday to open the Fifth Ordinary Session, the stage is set for parliamentarians to translate these priorities into concrete legislative, oversight and advocacy work—advancing Agenda 2063 and reaffirming PAP’s role as Africa’s premier continental voice.