The final week of the Second Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament commenced with Committee Meetings. Today, 30 May 2023, the Committee on Education, Culture, Tourism and Human Resources; Committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline; Committee on Audit and Public Accounts as well as the Committee on Transport, Communication, Energy, Science, and Technology were the last to meet to review their budget and finalise and adopt reports.
Challenging across the board for all Committees is the issue of finances. Despite much lobbying from the PAP President and other senior officials, Committees of the Pan-African Parliament received only US$ 1.8 Million, from the proposed US$ 7 Million budget that was presented to the African Union. The reduction has resulted in Committees finding it very challenging to execute their plans and activities. Hon. Hamunyera Hambyuka, Member of the Committee on Transport, Communication, Energy, Science, and Technology queried as to why the budget ceiling was reduced so drastically. The response is that the African Union in and by itself is not well funded. In addition, the budget was based on the initial 11 Committees of the PAP, not considering the 4 additional that were created recently. Furthermore, Member States do not pay their contributions, hence, all AU organs are struggling with meeting their financial needs. Committee Clerks present urged Committees to re-focus their work on their core mandate, which is oversight of the African Union. In terms of its mandate, the Pan-African Parliament is not an executing body and thus, cannot enjoy priority in terms of funding under the current financial constraints, according to the Committee Clerks. Committees were informed to align their activities with their mandate, which is a parliamentary advisory mandate of oversight and supervision. The clerks further advised individual Committees to craft strategic plans that will help with impact assessment and further help motivate and strengthen an increased budget from the AU.
The Committee on Transport, Communication, Energy, Science, and Technology raised concerns on the budget of their reduced budget, stressing that the theme of the African Union for the year 2023; Accelerating the Implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area will not be realized without effective transport infrastructure. The Committee believes that although they may not have the tools to implement the construction of transport infrastructure on the continent, they must, as MPs, vigorously lobby and advocate governments to prioritize the matter. This, the MPs say, can be through the creation of a charter or master plan that will outline how Africa can be connected. The Committee believes that connecting one or two countries with every session would have great impact. Without transport infrastructure, trade and economic prosperity will not be realized as it is the backbone of all economies. For Africa to build economies, it must be connected.
The reduced budget could potentially weaken the effectiveness of Committees. The Pan-African Parliament could further petition the African Union to avail more funds, particularly for Committees whose main functions fall in the ambit of the theme for 2023. Alternatively, Committees were advised to source donors and sponsors to help with executing their mandate, given that they follow the necessary provisions of the PAP.
