Pan-African Parliament and SADC Parliamentary Forum Meetings: Parliament briefings

Meeting report

FOREIGN AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
12 September 2005
PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENT AND SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM MEETINGS: PARLIAMENT BRIEFINGS

Acting Chairperson: Mr M Ramgobin (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Update on Pan-African Parliament since Third Ordinary Session: Department PowerPoint presentation
Update on SADC Parliamentary Forum 17th Plenary Session: Department PowerPoint presentation
Report of the South African delegation of the Third Ordinary Session of the Pan-African Parliament
Report on Information and Update Workshop for the Pan-African Parliament Standing Committee on Co-operation, International Relations and Conflict Resolution
Report of the South African Parliamentary delegation at the 17th Plenary Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum

SUMMARY
Parliamentary researchers briefed the Committee was briefed on the outcomes of the Third Session of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and the 17th Session of Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF). Both sessions called for greater communication between the various regional bodies and countries, and spoke on the challenge of combating the spread of HIV/AIDS. The PAP Third Plenary Session also made preparations for the Fourth Session to be held from 21 November to 2 December 2005, as well as setting up its own trust fund and having PAP committees work on specific issues. The 17th Session of the SADC-PF dealt with promoting democratic elections in the region and greater gender equality.

The Committee suggested that to prevent South Africa from becoming overwhelmed with the challenges, it should concentrate on dealing with a few issues at a time. Examples of areas South Africa should be involved in were the environment, poverty alleviation and economic development. The Committee wanted to be further briefed on the African Union (AU), PAP and SADC by outside independent parties in the future, in order to gain a new perspective on these organs. The importance of adopting gender equity practically was also discussed, as well as communication between the various regional organs and national parliaments.

The Committee unanimously adopted two reports on the PAP and one report on SADC, without any amendments or objections.

MINUTES

Parliament briefing on Pan-African Parliament Session
Ms Bridgette Diutlwileng, a Parliamentary Researcher, briefed the Committee on the outcomes of the Third Ordinary Session of the Pan-African Parliament held at Gallagher Estate in Johannesburg from 29 March to 11 April 2005. The briefing centred on four areas, namely the achievements of the Second Session, objectives of the Third Session, committee meetings, key issues of the Third Session, and plans for the Fourth Ordinary session.

Achievements of the Second Session included the drafting of rules of procedure for the PAP, accomplishment of the PAP mission to Darfur, and the formation and selection of PAP Committees. The final accomplishment was the addition Swahili to English, France and Arabic as a working language in PAP.

The main outcomes of the Third Session was the discussion of the role of PAP on the continent as it had no legislative powers, the creation of a trust fund, the functioning of committees created in the Second Session and a report back of the Second Session. The final outcome was that seven recommendations and eleven resolutions were made. The committees had also met and discussed their priority issues.

A number of key issues had arisen from the Plenary discussions and debates during the Third Session. The main issues discussed was the review of the Millennium Development Goals, the reform of the United Nations Security Council, and the combating of the spread of HIV/AIDS. Preparations for committee meetings between August and October 2005, and the Fourth Ordinary session from 21 November to 2 December 2005, were also made. Finally, the challenges of communication in the PAP and with the AU and other regional bodies were discussed. The South African Parliament had to learn to effectively engage with reports from the PAP and produce results timeously.

Discussion
The Chairperson highlighted that the discussions surrounding the PAP and the SADC-PF were extremely important as they would impact the forthcoming United Nations meeting in New York. The decisions taken by the PAP and the AU regarding UN reform would make the greatest impact. It was also important for committees to reflect critically on the challenges facing Africa in terms of peace missions, poverty, rural economies and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Chairperson was aware that the one of the greatest stumbling blocks of the PAP was its own rules and procedures. Secondly, a number of previous meetings had raised that communication between parliaments was extremely poor. What was the outcome in the Third Session regarding recommendations to increase communication between parliaments?

Professor B Turok (ANC) acknowledged that setting up the PAP would be extremely difficult and have a number of complications. He recommended that South Africa focus on one or two issues that it could then deal with properly. This would prevent the country’s policymakers becoming demoralised or feeling overwhelmed. If it dealt with only two issues at a time, it could create a sense of confidence that would be a critical factor. For example, South Africa was economically strong and had a number of parastatals and successful business initiatives. The Committee and Parliament should therefore help with socio-economic development in Africa.

Mr W Seremane (DA) commended the PAP Report on the Third Ordinary Session as it was important to maintain linkages on the continent. He asked how the PAP hoped to strengthen the linkages between it and national parliaments. What were the key areas where these linkages could be strengthened?

Ms S Camerer (DA) had a query over the South African delegation sent to the PAP. Advocate Madasa had been a member of the delegation, and was now a member of the ANC. However, the delegation was supposed to contain two members of the opposition parties. This matter would obviously have to be attended to before the 4^th session of the PAP. The Chairperson suggested that they should wait for the Parliament floor-crossing period to end before addressing this matter.

Ms M Njobe (ANC) agreed about the floor-crossing. He went on to note that, unlike the previous sessions, a great amount of work had been done during the Third Session. Concrete recommendations had also been raised but there were uncertainties over implementation. The South African delegation had played an important and constructive role. All five PAP committees had made reports to the PAP, which was encouraging as it showed that these committees were active in a number of areas.

She noted that the committees had recommended that workshops be held in different parts of Africa. Would PAP be able to afford this? It was important that the PAP raised more of its own funds through the new Trust Fund, so that it could fund its own activities without relying on funding from the AU. South Africa and the PAP also needed to encourage countries that had not yet signed the PAP Protocol. She added that South Africa should assist the PAP in gathering information on its various oversight areas as research would play a key role in the success of PAP initiatives.

Mr S Huang (ANC) referred to the encouragement of PAP investment and it acting as a finance institution. He was aware that one of the focuses of the PAP within the AU was working in the older rural economies in Africa. He felt that the Report was vague on the role of the PAP in African economies. He requested that more detail be given on this issue.

Ms S Camerer (DA) felt that the PAP Report was more informative that critical. This was due to the difficulty of a participating parliament critically assessing the work done by the PAP. She suggested that an outside independent party brief the Committee on developments in the AU and the PAP more critically, such as the SA Institute of International Relations. The Chairperson suggested that Ms Camerer suggest this directly to Mr Sithole.

The Chairperson asked Ms Diutlwileng not to respond to the issues raised by Members, but rather feed recommendations into the appropriate structures. He agreed that South Africa should only concentrate on a few issues at a time, and prioritised focus on the environment and poverty relief. The PAP Report importantly contained a number of ideals and not just attainable objectives.

Professor B Turok (ANC) highlighted the importance of including the public in the PAP Reports. He suggested that the Committee write to the International Relations departments of universities and enquire to what extent were they teaching their students about the AU. He agreed with Ms Njobe that the PAP report was of a high standard and needed to be disseminated to universities and the broader public.

Mr W Seremane (DA) felt that South Africa should focus on peace and development, as well as good governance for African governments.

Parliament briefing on SADC Parliamentary Forum Report
Ms Dudu Lenzie, Parliamentary Legal Adviser, and Mr Matthew Parks, Parliamentary Researcher, updated the Committee on the SADC-PF 17th Session. Its main theme was a review of the role of the SADC-PF in promoting democratic elections. The latter were seen as central to enhancing good governance, accountability and transparency. Delegates also dealt with the establishment of the SADC Parliament aimed for 2007. Lastly, they discussed general implementation of the SADC Gender Declaration, and specifically the goal of 30% female representation in leadership.

A Thematic and a Policy session was also held during the 17th Session. Three important themes were the enhancement of gender representation and electoral reforms in the SADC region, and comparing the elections of the SADC-PF, SADC and the AU. The Policy session had concentrated on the proposed SADC Parliament. The summit welcomed this idea but rejected the urgency of its establishment. A number of other matters from committee reports had also been dealt with.

Key challenges included achieving greater co-operation between SADC and the SADC-PF observer missions, the establishment of a SADC Parliament, and placing gender equality and the fight against HIV/AIDS at the centre of SADC agendas. A number of outcomes were also achieved for planning the 18^th Plenary Session.

Discussion
The Chairperson commented that observer missions and the promotion of democratic elections were two separate tasks. He enquired whether SADC and the SADC-PF were aiming to consolidate the SADC-PF observer missions so that they not only monitored, but also promoted, democratic elections. Secondly, he asked if the national parliaments were expected to take the outcomes and findings of the SADC-PF Sessions to the rest of their populations. Lastly, the briefing had neglected SADC’s view on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

Mr W Seremane (DA) commented that there had to be a procedure whereby both SADC and the SADC-PF could convene to discuss and then synchronise the findings of their observer missions.

Ms M Njobe (ANC) felt that gender equality should not merely be put into countries’ constitutions, but should rather follow the more practical approach of South Africa. Political parties needed to embrace gender development and women’s movements needed to be strengthened. This was extremely important as many women had been placed in positions of power, yet they were not yet ‘ready’ for these positions.

Professor B Turok (ANC) argued that although the adoption of SADC reports was exciting, SADC states were still "treading water". Until the Heads of States agreed to the constitution of a Parliament, nothing would really be achieved. He also enquired whether South Africa could play a larger role in promoting democratic elections as well as other SADC objectives in the region.

The Chairperson then proposed that the Committee adopt the three reports discussed. All three reports were adopted unanimously without any amendments or objections.

The meeting was adjourned.