Your Excellency Dr Fateh Boutbig, President of the Pan-African Parliament;
Honourable Vice-Presidents of the Pan-African Parliament;
Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of South Africa, Hon Thoko Didiza;
Honourable Members of the Pan-African Parliament;
Heads of African Union Organs and Agencies;
Members of the diplomatic corps;
Representatives of the Nelson Mandela Foundation;
Guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Good afternoon.
It is my privilege to address this First Ordinary Session of the 7th Pan-African Parliament.
The Pan-African Parliament carries the hopes and aspirations of more than 1.5 billion Africans for peace, progress and prosperity across our beloved continent.
It is an enduring symbol of unity in diversity: a unity anchored in the conviction that Africa’s future must be shaped not only by its governments, but by its peoples.
We gather at a moment when events beyond our shores are having a profound and damaging impact on the lives of Africa’s people.
Our continent is not spared the effects of conflict and instability, greater global economic turbulence, and increasing geopolitical tension across the world.
Nor is our continent spared the devastating impact of accelerating climate change.
In recent days, we have seen destructive fires raging across our sister countries of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, resulting in the loss of many lives.
We convey to these governments and peoples our deepest sympathies for the loss of life, livelihoods and properties.
These developments make it even more important that Africa is able to stand together to advance its own development.
Mr President, we congratulate you and the four Vice-Presidents on your successful election to lead the seventh legislature.
We wish you well for your term.
We are confident that you will advance the noble mandate of African unity with integrity and purpose.
For the democratic South Africa, few honours have carried greater significance than hosting the Pan-African Parliament.
Being the home of one of the pre-eminent institutions of Africa’s democratic architecture is more than a privilege for South Africa. It is a responsibility and a duty.
The year 1994 was momentous for South Africa, not just because we won our liberation from the bondage of apartheid.
It was also the year that we formally returned to the embrace of the African family of nations – a family that had supported us and stood by us during our struggle.
Just weeks after our first democratic election, South Africa was admitted as the 53rd member state of the Organisation of African Unity.
Having emerged from decades of apartheid isolation to reclaim our place within the community of African nations, we were – and remain – determined to repay and honour Africa’s solidarity.
In June 1994, at the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU in Tunis, our nation’s founding father President Nelson Mandela challenged the nations of Africa to commit to the continent’s rebirth.
He said:
“If freedom was the crown which the fighters of liberation sought to place on the head of mother Africa, let the upliftment, the happiness, prosperity and comfort of her children be the jewel of the crown.”
Thirty-two years ago, South Africa embraced the responsibility to work for Africa’s upliftment.
Our commitment has not wavered.
South Africa has sought to be more than a mere signatory to the instruments of African unity.
Since then, South Africa has sought to honour the solidarity Africa showed us during our struggle by contributing to continental peace, integration, development and institution building.
We have consistently and actively committed our efforts and resources to building the institutions, initiatives and capabilities our continent needs.
In 2002 we were honoured to host the inaugural Summit of the African Union.
South Africa is a founding member of the African Peer Review Mechanism and was one of the co-architects of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
Through our African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund, South Africa continues to finance democracy support, mediation, humanitarian assistance, reconstruction and capacity building across our continent.
It is during times of need, at moments of crisis, that African unity is at its most potent.
Six years ago, our continent was confronted with the worst global health crisis in more than a century.
Through the collective efforts of Member States, African Union institutions and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, we coordinated a continental response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We established the first Africa Medical Supplies Platform to procure critical supplies and medical equipment.
We established the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team to procure millions of vaccines for the continent.
As a continental collective, the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic have strengthened our resolve to better coordinate future pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
Africa demonstrated the value of continental solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through the African Union, virtually an entire continent was brought under a Joint Continental Strategy, coordinated by Africa’s own public-health agency, the Africa CDC.
Our continental response extended beyond the geographic boundaries of Africa.
Recognising the African diaspora as the sixth region of Africa, we opened the Africa Medical Supplies Platform and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust to the countries of the Caribbean Community.
This enabled Caribbean countries to benefit from Africa’s pooled procurement of critical medical supplies and vaccines.
At a time when vaccine nationalism was taking hold and poorer countries were being pushed to the back of the queue, Africa did not only call for international solidarity.
Africa practised solidarity. We extended the institutions and mechanisms we had built to our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean.
This demonstrates that African integration can produce practical benefits not only for the continent, but also for the wider global African family.
This resolve is evident in the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, ably led by the Africa CDC.
We commend the affected countries for the decisive action they have taken to contain the Ebola outbreaks and further congratulate this Parliament for dedicating time during this parliamentary session to deliberate on the continental response to this public health emergency.
South Africa has had the privilege of contributing to peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction on our continent through election observers, troop contributions, capacity-building and mediation.
When the African Union was born right here on South African soil, the people of South Africa stood firmly behind the powerful vision of an African Renaissance.
Today, South Africa stands behind the collective effort to translate the vision of continental unity into cooperation, action and progress.
This historical arc, this continuity of purpose, is testament to our enduring commitment to the African Agenda.
By hosting this Pan-African Parliament, and through our humble contributions to African unity, integration, peace and security, we affirm our profound conviction that South Africa’s future is inseparable from the future of our continent.
The Pan-African Parliament is a pillar of Africa’s democratic architecture.
It gives expression to the voice of the peoples of Africa.
It reinforces our shared commitment to democratic governance, constitutionalism, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
As elected representatives of our citizens, you have a unique responsibility to strengthen accountable institutions, promote transparency and ensure that the aspirations of the African Union are translated into tangible improvements in the lives of our people.
This Parliament must itself exemplify the democratic values it seeks to advance across the continent.
It must be a model of integrity, transparency, accountability, responsible stewardship and fidelity to its own rules.
Its strength will depend not only on the powers entrusted to it, but also on the confidence it inspires among the people of Africa.
We welcome the efforts of this Parliament to exercise oversight over the flagship projects of the African Union through its various committees.
By bringing various national Parliaments together under a single roof, this institution is able to monitor implementation of the policies and programmes that are key to Africa’s development and integration.
This session takes place under the African Union’s Theme of the Year: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063”.
This theme addresses one of the most urgent challenges facing our continent.
Access to clean water and safe sanitation is a fundamental human right.
It is essential to human dignity, public health, food security, education, industrial development and social stability.
Yet millions of people across Africa still live without a reliable supply of safe drinking water or adequate sanitation.
Women and girls often carry the heaviest burden, travelling long distances to collect water and losing opportunities to learn, work and participate fully in community life.
Climate change is intensifying droughts and floods. Ageing and poorly maintained infrastructure is failing communities.
Pollution, inadequate investment and weak governance are placing further pressure on scarce water resources.
Water insecurity does not respect national borders. Many of Africa’s rivers, lakes and groundwater systems are shared between countries.
Their sustainable management requires cooperation, trust and a shared commitment to the interests of present and future generations.
The Pan-African Parliament and national parliaments have a decisive role to play.
They must develop and harmonise enabling legislation, oversee public expenditure, promote investment in water infrastructure and hold governments accountable for delivering reliable water and sanitation services.
They must ensure that continental commitments are reflected in national development plans, municipal budgets and the daily lives of our people.
South Africa is confronting its own severe water supply challenges. Through our National Water Action Plan, we are working to strengthen accountability, rehabilitate infrastructure, improve municipal performance and mobilise investment in water security.
We recognise that no country can address these challenges in isolation. We must share knowledge, technology, finance and expertise across our continent.
We look to the Pan-African Parliament to continue to leverage its mandate in pursuit of peace, good governance, the empowerment of women and young people, climate justice and other key issues facing our continent.
This Parliament must be resolute in defending constitutional democracy.
It must speak clearly against unconstitutional changes of government, the unlawful extension of political tenure, the weakening of democratic institutions and the misuse of public resources.
It must defend the independence of legislatures, courts and institutions established to protect democracy.
Democratic governance is not an abstract ideal. It is essential for peace, development and the confidence of citizens in the institutions that serve them.
As the voice of all of Africa’s peoples, this Parliament is a strident voice in support of multilateralism, international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Africa must speak with one voice on the reform of the institutions of global governance and the global financial architecture so that they are more representative, equitable and responsive to the needs of emerging economies.
One of the most significant tasks of the Pan-African Parliament in this era is to provide guidance to the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The African Continental Free Trade Area is undoubtedly the most powerful instrument we have to realise our cherished goal of African unity, prosperity and progress.
If used to its greatest effect, this continental free trade area will overcome the boundaries that colonial division and exploitation imposed upon our continent.
It will open our rivers to commerce and our ports to trade.
It is the foundation on which we will build new factories, develop new mines, plough new fields and build new data centres.
This continental free trade area will enable our people to realise their potential and to develop the skills that will drive the global economy of the future.
It will allow the women and youth of this continent to place their energies and capabilities in the service of inclusive growth.
But agreements alone will not create a continental market.
We must remove non-tariff barriers, modernise customs systems, improve transport and logistics, harmonise regulations and establish payment systems that make it easier and less costly for African businesses to trade with one another.
The Pan-African Parliament must work with national and regional parliaments to domesticate AfCFTA commitments, harmonise legislation and hold governments accountable for implementation.
The goal of African integration extends beyond infrastructure, commerce and trade.
African integration imagines a continent where knowledge, culture, innovation and ideas flow freely across borders, rivers, mountain ranges and great plains.
It envisages a continent where people are not constrained by the strictures placed upon them by lines drawn on a colonial map.
If we are to realise this vision of African unity and integration, we need to collectively attend to the challenges and opportunities of migration.
Today, many parts of our continent are confronted by the challenge of migration.
Here in South Africa, as has been the experience of other countries, we have witnessed outbreaks of anti-migrant sentiment and incidents of intimidation and violence directed at foreign nationals.
This has been fuelled in part by misinformation and prejudice, but it draws on a genuine concern among some South Africans about the social and economic burden of illegal migration.
As the South African government, we have taken a firm stance against any form of intimidation, vigilantism or violence directed at foreign nationals.
We have taken steps to strengthen and enforce our laws, to defuse tension and to ensure that all persons within our borders respect the rights of all.
Migration is an essential part of the African story.
Throughout history, across every continent, people have moved in search of opportunity – and they will continue to do so.
We must not conflate lawful migrants, refugees and asylum seekers with people who enter or remain in countries in violation of immigration laws.
Nor should migrants be made scapegoats for unemployment, crime or shortcomings in the delivery of public services.
Our response must combine firm, fair and effective immigration management with an unwavering defence of human dignity and the rule of law.
Our task is to ensure that migration is managed in a manner that affirms the rights and dignity of all people, that respects international conventions and that advances social cohesion.
We have seen how unmanaged migration can undermine the sovereignty, security and social order of countries.
As African countries, we have to acknowledge and address the conditions that drive migration in the first place.
We need to work together to address issues like conflict, instability, governance failure, poverty and social discord.
We need to create equal economic opportunity across Africa.
We need to silence the guns. We need to build inclusive institutions of governance.
We must work for a future where Africans migrate out of choice and not necessity.
We call on this Pan-African Parliament to take up the mantle of leadership, to be at the forefront of finding sustainable solutions to this issue.
The measure of Africa’s development will not only be the ease with which Africans can move across borders.
It will also be the extent to which every African country offers all its citizens sufficient opportunity, dignity and hope.
As the honourable members of this Parliament, as the collective leadership of this continent, we have a responsibility to build a better Africa.
We have a responsibility to build a continent at peace with itself, where conflicts are resolved through dialogue and diplomacy rather than through the barrel of a gun.
It is a continent that produces everything that it needs.
That extracts from its abundant resources the full value that belongs to its people.
Rather than exporting our raw wealth, we must process our minerals, our agricultural produce and our energy ourselves.
We are building a continent where our young people have the skills, capital and opportunity to build enterprises and careers on African soil, rather than seeking them abroad.
This is a continent where women take their rightful place in the boardrooms, parliaments and factories that drive our economies.
It is a continent whose voice in global institutions matches its size, its history and its potential.
We must have a common voice, one that is powerful and resolute, on the reform of the United Nations Security Council, on the international financial architecture, and in the councils that set the rules of trade, climate and technology.
To build this Africa, we must translate the agreements we have signed into the laws, institutions and resources that give them life.
Too many of our continental commitments remain aspirations on paper.
We must invest in our people – in education, health and skills – so that our demographic strength becomes a dividend and not a burden.
We must connect our continent with the roads, railways, ports, energy grids and digital infrastructure that allow goods, capital, data and people to move freely.
We must strengthen the institutions of this Union, so that they have the authority, resources and political support to act on matters of peace and security, health, development and trade.
And we must remain united.
Africa’s history teaches us that division has long been the instrument through which others have sought to shape our destiny.
A united Africa shapes its own destiny.
The success of this Seventh Legislature will not be measured only by the debates it holds or the resolutions it adopts.
It will be measured by the laws it helps to shape, the commitments it helps to implement and the difference it makes in the daily lives of the people of Africa.
History will judge us not by the speeches we deliver, but by the Africa we build.
Let this Parliament be the conscience of our continent.
Let it be the voice of Africa’s most vulnerable.
Let it be the guardian of democracy.
Let it be the champion of peace.
I thank you.
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