Ten countries approve legislative powers for African Parliament

Ten African Union Member states have signed the amended Protocol granting full legislative powers to the Pan African Parliament.

African Heads of State and government approved amendments to the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union relating to the Pan African Parliament in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in June 2014. Following the approval, the Protocol required at least 28 ratifications to come into effect. 

"I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the Republic of Mali, Sierra Leone and Mauritania for the ratification of the instrument," said Hon. Roger Nkodo, the President of the Pan African Parliament, while presenting the PAP Activity report, 4 May, 2016.

This was during a PAP plenary sitting during the Second Ordinary Session of the Fourth Pan African Parliament is being held at the headquarters of the Pan African Parliament in Midrand, South Africa, May 3 - 13, 2016.

Nkodo said that three of the 10 countries have gone ahead to ratify, while only one has deposited the instrument to the AU headquarters. 

Benin, Chad, Congo and Guinea Bissau have signed the Protocol.

Calling on the countries to complete the process, the President said that PAP had developed an advocacy strategy "28 in 206" aimed at achieving the required number of ratifications for the Protocol to come into force. 

He said that, with the help of development partners, the PAP Secretariat went on advocacy missions to Algeria, Egypt, the Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Western Sahara, Senegal, Swaziland, Togo and Zimbabwe.

"At the end of the missions, we collected positive reactions and have secured the commitment of these Member States," said Nkodo.

"The current consultative role of PAP limits the effective execution of its mandate in particular, with regard to the establishment of a legal framework for the implementation of the programmes and policies of the African Union," he added. 

Legislators appealed to the President, the four Vice Presidents and Caucus chairs to push for the signing, ratification and depositing of instruments by their governments before the process can be rolled out to the rest of the continent. 

Uganda's representatives at PAP are Hon. Onyango Kakoba (NRM, Buikwe North), Hon. Sam Otada (Ind., Kibanda), Hon. Elijah Okupa (FDC, Kasilo), Hon. Jacqueline Amongin (NRM, Ngora) and Hon. Beatrice Barumba (NRM, Kiruhura).