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Zvamaida Murwira in Midrand, South Africa

Pan African Parliament President Fortune Charumbira yesterday said the continental organisation should gear itself for rejuvenation and take its place within the African governance matrix in line with its founding values.

It was time that PAP should drive the vision of Africa’s founding fathers to have a continent that is peaceful and prosperous, he said.

Chief Charumbira said this in Midrand, South Africa where he was delivering a keynote address during a strategic re-orientation workshop that drew Members of Parliament from across the continent and experts from different sectors.

The three day workshop is running under the theme: “Reviving, renewing, repositioning and reinvigorating the Pan African Parliament”.

It is meant to explore ways to revamp and reconnect PAP with its founding values and stakeholders as well as orient new Members of the Parliament.

“Our mandate is to ensure the full participation of African people in interpreting their continent,” said Chief Charumbira who took up the reigns in June this year.

“So, your presence here is a bold statement of intend to rejuvenate PAP and cement its definitive role within the wider continental governance matrix and ensure that the dreams of our founding fathers are realised.

“May I also appreciate the presence of African Union Commissioners, representatives of other organs of AU, regional economic groups and other important stakeholders and stockholders.

“Your presence here is a reaffirmation of a complimentary role that we all should play in driving the vision of our founding fathers which is that we have a continent that is prosperous and peaceful driven by its own citizens and representing the dynamic force in the international arena.”

Chief Charumbira said the gathering that opened yesterday, was the first official engagement by his bureau after they were elected about two months ago.

“We gather here today as our official engagement since our election in June 2022, remember we had a long break of two years, first because of Covid-19 in March 2020 and when we were able to meet we could not because of problems with our elections, but I must say we have long passed these issues. Now we have to work, fulfilling the mandate of this Parliament,” said President Charumbira, who is also Zimbabwe’s Chiefs Council president.

He said during his tour as PAP leader, he will ensure regional balance with respect to all activities and organs including how staff members would be recruited.

Chief Charumbira said there were 22 vacancies to be filled and would ensure that the process was done both in terms of merit and African regional balance.

He said one of the issues was to have a budget that will enable PAP carry out its activities, including election observation.

Absence of an elected bureau left staff being responsible for budget formulation, a development that saw it getting nominal support from funders, said Chief Charumbira.

Turning to the workshop, Chief Charumbira said it was meant to remind legislators who they were as PAP members.

“It is about what is PAP and what should we be doing. We need to know why was it established and by whom,” he said.

Later on, legislators discussed the impact of Civid-19 on the continent.

They called for the continent to pool resources to produce vaccines rather than wait for Western countries to provide them.

Chief Charumbira was elected in June this year after the AU asserted its authority and directed that the principle of regional rotation should be observed.

This was after initial efforts failed as legislators were bickering on procedural issues in particular whether there should be rotation or not.