Mover: Honourable Siphosezwe MASANGO, MP, South Africa

Seconder:  Hon. Balamage Nkolo, MP

Date for which Notice is given: Friday 14 July 2017

Mr. President, I rise to second the Motion by Hon. Masango urging this august Assembly to consider and resolve on the African Union Assembly Decision (Assembly/AU/Dec.635 (XXVIII) advocating the restructuring of the African Union (AU). This is timely and relevant and our engagement today will allow a regional parliamentary reflection and resolution. 

We are all aware that the current African Union (AU) was born out of the then Organization for African Unity (OAU) which was primarily focused on liberation of the continent from the colonial yoke, which objective was really achieved. The AU through this transformational process is supposedly more focussed on the twin mammoth tasks of development and the integration of the continent. In 1992 our own Southern African Development Community (SADC) also went through the same restructuring process. SADC recently through the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) (2015-2020), SADC refocused its development and integration agenda.

Mr. President, Hounorable Members,

My input here serves to emphasize that restructuring and reorganization by continental and regional organizations is important but I wish to urge that it be accompanied by introspection and evaluation. Africa’s development agenda started with the Lagos Plan of Action (1980) which followed by many other development proposals to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD 2001) and now to the Agenda 2063. 

The change from one development plan to another, well intended as it may be, results in confusion and lack of ownership by the continental citizenry.  Consequently, domestication and oversight at the national level is hampered. Of greater concern is the fact that the lessons learned which are supposed to show challenges and successes are not taken up and we run the risk of repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

Mr. President,

This august house needs to know what we have learned out of the implementation of NEPAD and to confirm as to whether we are still on track. Are we perhaps not shifting the goal post with the Agenda 2063? With regard to the SADC Region, the revised RISDP is no longer providing regional integration targets as was the case in the original RISDP.  The biggest dilemma of Africa’s development planning is that it is primarily premised on external funding and not on our own resources. This is an anomaly which we have to correct without delay.

Mr. President, I beg to second the motion.