Story by John Nhandara
THE Pan African Parliament (PAP) and the Parliament of South Africa have adopted a joint communiqué outlining Africa’s consolidated recommendations ahead of the forthcoming 11th P20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit and the G20 Summit, both of which are scheduled to be held later this year.
The communiqué was adopted following a joint high-level meeting held this Monday in Midrand, South Africa.
The strategic engagement sought to align continental priorities in preparation for the global gatherings, with an emphasis on parliamentary diplomacy, economic justice, and sustainable development.
Speaking at the meeting, House Chairperson for Committees in the South African Parliament, Honourable Cedrick Florick, underscored the critical importance of the symposium in light of prevailing geopolitical and social dynamics.
“It is important for us to contextualise today’s symposium in terms of the political and social dynamics that confront us. It is critical for parliamentary diplomacy, especially in the context of realising and reinvigorating our efforts to explore opportunities and possibilities presented by the P20 and G20 summits that will be held for the first time on African soil,” he said.
President of the Pan African Parliament, Chief Fortune Charumbira, emphasised the role of African voices in shaping global legislative action.
“These various topics for today are intended to reflect and speak to the aspirations of our people in terms of trade, in terms of markets for various products, agricultural products. What are the aspirations of our people? Again, we have been engaging our minds on the issue of climate change, mitigation, adaptation, and how this should feed into the G20. We also look at issues of mining, natural resource management,” he said.
The meeting also tackled key issues, including trade justice, intra-African trade enhancement, and improved access for African products on the global market.
Honourable Bekizizwe Radebe, House Chairperson for International Relations in the Parliament of South Africa, noted the urgency of addressing persistent trade barriers and the paradox of African resource abundance amid food insecurity.
“Africa must be able to feed its people, so we cannot allow a scenario where a continent with many resources is not able to sustain itself. Trade will drive economic growth. However, trade barriers hinder this. A fort’s issue, which inhibits trade within ourselves, is tariffs. The issue of subsidies,” he said.
Echoing the sentiment, Honourable John Bideri, Chairperson of PAP’s Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration Matters, highlighted the significance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a cornerstone of Agenda 2063.
“ACFTA, which PAP collaborates with, is one of the factory projects on the agenda 2063 development framework implementation, which will promote socio-economic growth for Africa, aims to boost intra-African trade,” he said.
The upcoming 11th P20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit, set to take place in South Africa later this year, marks the first time the prestigious global parliamentary forum will be held on African soil.
It is expected to reinforce multilateralism and strengthen international parliamentary cooperation in pursuit of equality, sustainability, and inclusive development.
