Charumbira rallies African legislators to face challenges head-on

Source: The Herald – Breaking news.

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 Chief Fortune Charumbira

Farirai Machivenyika

Senior Reporter

PAN-AFRICAN Parliament (PAP) president, Chief Fortune Charumbira, has urged African parliamentarians to confront the many challenges facing the continent head-on.

He said this while addressing the opening of the First Ordinary Session of the year of Benin’s National Assembly last Friday.

Chief Charumbira said the challenges include food insecurity, unconstitutional change of governments, terrorism, displacement, youth drug abuse, illicit financial flows, human trafficking and weak legislative harmonisation, all of which threaten to erode the continent’s development gains.

“These challenges yearn for solutions from us as representatives of the people,” he said, adding that parliaments have a strategic role to play in continental and global development.

The PAP president also bemoaned the increase in armed conflicts on the continent.

“Over 15 000 people have been killed in Sudan and 21 million people are in urgent need of aid in the DRC. This forces us to ask, why have we failed?” he said.

Chief Charumbira added that Africa’s failure to address such conflicts stems not only from institutional weaknesses but from a disconnect between governments and citizens.

“Citizens are more likely to support alternative regimes, even military ones, if those promise security and stability,” he said.

Chief Charumbira also criticised parliaments for failing to deal with the scourge of corruption, saying the rise in the establishment of anti-corruption entities was evidence of weaknesses in parliaments in their oversight role.

“We must self-introspect and demonstrate we have teeth to bite the scourge of corruption,” he said.

Chief Charumbira challenged Benin, which was at the epicentre of the dehumanising slave trade, to take the lead in the fight for reparations in line with the 1993 Abuja Declaration, saying the fight was for economic justice and dignity.