Forward Africa Leaders Symposium Ends with Vow to Deepen Parliamentary Role in Africa’s Digital Transformation

As the Forward Africa Leaders Symposium wrapped up its sessions on the sidelines of UN General Assembly 80, a major commitment emerged: Africa’s path toward digital transformation will be more robust if Parliamentarians are fully woven into its governance architecture. This was the central message delivered by H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), during a session themed “Advancing Africa’s Digital Transformation: Inspiring Action. Accelerating Growth. Amplifying Impact.”

Parliament: A Key Player in Oversight, Inclusion, and Trust

Chief Charumbira argued that digital transformation, and especially the burgeoning influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) cannot succeed in a way that is transparent, inclusive, or beneficial unless parliaments are empowered to play their oversight role. Legislators should not be passive observers; instead, they must be equipped with tools and knowledge to guide normative frameworks that protect rights, ensure accountability, and align with continental goals such as those spelled out in Agenda 2063.

To this end, he proposed that a model continental law be developed to harmonize legislation across African nations. Such a model law would provide a shared reference, helping countries to align their regulations around AI governance, data protection, privacy, transparency, and ethical AI development.

Capacity Building: Turning Intent into Capability

Acknowledging that oversight and legislation are only effective when those who make laws understand the tech, Chief Charumbira called on development partners and other stakeholders to support capacity building for MPs. To this effect:

• The PAP, in partnership with the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), will host a training workshop on 27–28 September 2025 at its seat.
• The workshop aims to bolster MPs’ capacity through practical training modules.
• A key outcome will be to define, endorse, and launch a “Common Parliamentary Toolkit on AI Governance,” which MPs can use across their different jurisdictions to guide legislation, oversight, and informed dialogue with citizens and tech stakeholders.

Governance Reform, Policy Frameworks, and Global Value Chains

Another thread of discussion at the Symposium was the role of governance reforms and policy frameworks in helping African businesses move up the tech value chain. Leaders emphasized that in addition to oversight, there must be policy clarity, regulatory stability, and supportive infrastructure so that enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones can integrate digital tools, access markets, and export high-value tech or tech-enabled services.

Institutional Alignment & Continental Instruments

The Symposium was convened by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), and served as a platform to:

• spotlight Africa’s digital transformation agenda,
• push toward an integrated digital economy, and
• facilitate actionable collaborations between state and non-state actors.

Chief Charumbira is leading the PAP delegation to UNGA80, pursuing what is described as parliamentary diplomacy, ensuring that African parliamentary perspectives inform global debates on digital governance, tech regulation, AI, and related issues.

Why This Matters / Implications

1. Harmonization vs Fragmentation: If each country develops divergent rules for AI and digital governance, it can lead to a patchwork of laws that inhibit cross-border data flow, collaboration, and consistency. A model law and toolkit could help avoid legal fragmentation and make regional (and continental) cooperation more seamless.
2. Democratic Legitimacy & Accountability: When laws are made without informed legislative oversight, there is a real risk of unchecked power, misuse of AI, violations of privacy, or technologies that worsen inequality. Engaging Parliament more deeply helps ensure that citizens’ voices are represented, rights are safeguarded, and regulations remain accountable.
3. Capacity as the Bottleneck: Many countries in Africa are still at an early stage of AI adoption and digital regulation. Legislative capacity: understanding what AI means, what risks are involved, what ethical issues arise, is uneven. Training workshops, toolkits, and partnerships (such as PAP-APHRC) are essential to closing that gap.
4. Economic Opportunity: Properly governed, digital transformation and AI offer opportunities: improving public services, boosting productivity, enabling novel businesses, linking into global value chains, and creating both skilled and unskilled jobs. Without governance, there is risk of digital exclusion, monopolies, or foreign dependency.
5. Alignment with Africa’s Strategic Aspirations: Initiatives like this are consistent with AU Agenda 2063, which calls for inclusive growth, people-centred development, innovation, and continental integration. The emphasis on model laws, harmonization, data protection, privacy and digital economy features in earlier PAP work.

Looking Ahead

• Participants at the PAP-APHRC workshop (27–28 September) will likely define the first version of the Common Parliamentary Toolkit on AI Governance. What gets included will be important: perhaps definitions, legislative checklists, oversight mechanisms, ethical guidelines, privacy templates, etc.
• For adoption to have real force, national parliaments will need to adopt or domesticate these model laws and toolkits. That means political will, alignment with existing laws, and possibly constitutional or regulatory reform.
• Sustained engagement with civil society, academia, private sector and regional bodies will be crucial: tech evolves fast, and governance must keep pace and adapt.
• Ensuring that AI regulation does not stifle innovation will require balance: regulation should enable trust, safety, fairness but also not create prohibitive burdens for businesses, especially SMEs and startups.

Conclusion

The Forward Africa Leaders Symposium has sharpened focus on a critical insight: digital transformation across Africa cannot be successful without deep legislative engagement and oversight. By committing to build capacity, agree on common legal frameworks, and coordinate governance across countries, African Parliamentarians under PAP are taking steps toward ensuring that AI and digital technologies serve all Africans: inclusively, ethically, transparently.