African Parliament's third sitting
Richard Mantu
31 March 2005
The third session of the Pan-African Parliament kicked off in Midrand, Johannesburg on Tuesday, with the institution's president, Gertrude Mongella, urging the continent's representatives to work towards a common policy stance on rich countries and powerful regional blocs.
This ought to include a common stance on United Nations reform, World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks and other global forums, Mongella said.
The Tanzanian diplomat decried the fact that Africa had no united agenda in dealing with powerful blocs such as Europe and the United States, each of whom had their own agenda on Africa.
"Africa must rise to this challenge", Mongella said. "We must move from just numbers to influencing decisions of this world."
The Pan African Parliament was inaugurated in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in March 2004, and held its second session at its new South African home in September.
During the current session, which ends on 11 April, the body is expected to deliberate on its budget and management structure, and consider reports on peace and security development in Africa - paying special attention to the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Delegates will also discuss the implementation of the African Union's socio-economic development blueprint, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), and of the African Peer Review Mechanism.
The body will also debate the issue of United Nations reform, consider the challenges facing Africa's communication and transport sectors, and receive a special report by a committee on rural economy, agriculture, natural resources and the environment.
On finance, the delegates will discuss the possibility of setting up a trust fund to complement the institution's shoe-string annual budget
of US$5-million.
Source: BuaNews
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