AU spends $ 17 million on staff for a parliament that doesn’t sit
PAP Southern Caucus condemns election delays
The African Union has been spending about eight million dollars ($ 8 million) annually, totalling almost $ 17 million in two years on staff for a parliament that has not been sitting.
Expressing concern over the delay in organising the Bureau election, the Southern Regional Caucus in the Pan African Parliament ( PAP) wondered if it is not time for the Union to start expecting value for the money it spends on the Parliament.
Botswana is part of the Southern Regional PAP Caucus.
The bureau election was mandated by the Executive Council of the African Union ( AU) at the 39th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in October 2021 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Caucus pointed out that the Council’s directive to hold PAP bureau election without delay, considering the urgency of the matter, “was clear and not contingent on any other condition and wondered why the African Union Commission should insist on holding consultations with the other regional caucus as a condition precedent to organising the election.”
The caucus expressed this in a statement to the Council which commenced its 40th Ordinary Session on Wednesday this week.
The Caucus specifically noted the direct, clear, and unambiguous language of paragraph 17 of the Council decision “that in consideration of urgency of the matter, this decision shall be implemented with immediate effect”.
In spite of the clear, explicit, and unambiguous language of the Executive Council Decision of October 2021 directing those elections to be held “as soon as possible”, there has been no movement on the matter to date.
The Caucus pointed out that nowhere in the decisions of the 39th Session of the Executive Council was there a requirement for the Commission to hold consultations with the other regional caucuses before the election neither was there a stipulation that such consultations should be a pre- condition for the convening of the election session.
The caucus contends that it is therefore unreasonable to hinge the non- implementation of the Council decision on a provision that was not contained in the decision.
It explained in the statement, “paragraph 17 of the said decision that the Council intended that normalcy in the running of the Pan African Parliament should urgently be restored.
“The reasons advanced to delay elections are unacceptable. The elections should be held latest end of March. We do not require more than a month to hold an Extra- Ordinary Session for elections of the PAP bureau.
“The rules require two weeks but we can give even four weeks’ notice and still hold elections before the end of March. Notice should be given by mid- February to National Parliaments and Host country.
“South African Government is more than ready to host if given three week– notice from midFebruary as she is aware of her obligation to host PAP Statutory meetings in March every year”.
According to the Regional Caucus Article 14( 3) of the PAP Protocol gave the Executive Council power to request for an extraordinary session of the parliament which in the instant case, is for the sole purpose of conducting elections for the bureau of the parliament, as well as the leadership of the regional caucuses and permanent committees.
Such an extraordinary session requires a 14- day notice as provided in Rule 31( 1) of PAP’s Rules of Procedure and not a 21day notice, the caucus stated.