The Permanent Committees of the sixth Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) sitting are scheduled to be held from August 22 to September 02, 2022, at the seat of the continental Parliament in Midrand, South Africa.
The sittings constitute the first statutory assignment of the parliament since the elective ordinary session in June 2022, which signaled the resumption of parliamentary activities.
The African Union theme for 2022, “Building Resilience in Nutrition on the African Continent: Accelerate Human Capital, Social and Economic Development,” will guide the meetings.
The PAP committees will be working on various issues, including a dedicated workshop on the AU theme of 2022; an update on the peace and security situation on the continent; model law on Food Security and Nutrition; COVID-19 Crisis and economic and social recovery strategies in Africa; status of implementation of the AfCFTA; model law on Gender Parity; and the implementation status of the African Union Ten-Year Action Plan to eradicate Child Labour and Human Trafficking.
According to the President of the PAP, H.E. Charumbira, “committees are the engine house of Parliament as they ensure in-depth analysis on topical and emerging issues facing Africa.”
He stated that the committees enable Parliament to perform its core oversight, advisory, and consultative functions. Furthermore, such an arrangement enables the PAP to perform multiple functions at the same time while conducting detailed investigations into issues of concern.
He further disclosed that the August sittings will also feature the Speaker’s Conference, where the leadership of Africa’s national and regional legislatures will concert on AU decisions and policies as well as evaluate the state of the ratification of the PAP Protocol and ways to speed up this process.
The sittings will be preceded by a strategic reorientation workshop for members of the Pan-African Parliament on 22-23 August aimed at “Reviving, Renewing, Repositioning, and Reinvigorating the Pan-African Parliament.”
The workshop will serve as a catalyst to the PAP’s commitment to reposition itself within the AU architecture, through an in-depth analysis of its mandate and how it can effectively contribute to achieving the objectives of the Union.