SOUTH AFRICA WILL NOT RATIFY MALABO PROTOCOL IN ITS PRESENT FORM- HON PEMMY MAJODINA

The Chief Whip of the South African Parliament and the Chairperson of the Southern Regional Caucus of the Pan-African Parliament, Hon. Pemmy Pamela Majodina, has emphatically stated that South Africa is not going to ratify the Malabo Protocol in its present form.

Contributing to a discussion on the floor of the Pan-African Parliament on the need for countries that have not ratified the protocol to do so, the outspoken legislator noted that the clause in the current Malabo Protocol that requires that Members of the Pan-African Parliament are elected outside the National Parliament should be scrapped.

 

According to her, this clause is unconstitutional and against the Constitutive Act of the African Union that established the Pan-African Parliament.

 

Rule 7 Clause 1, of the Constitutive Act of the AU, described a Member of the Pan-African Parliament as “A person that has been elected or designated by their respective National Parliaments or any other deliberative organ of Member States, from among their members”.

 

According to Hon Majodina, South Africa would readily ratify the Malabo Protocol when this amendment is made.

 

The Malabo Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the AU relating to the PAP was adopted at the Assembly of Heads of State and Government Summit in June 2014 and is intended to extend the powers of the PAP into a fully-fledged legislative organ. It requires a minimum of 28 countries to ratify it before it comes into force. So far, only 15 AU Member States have ratified the Protocol.

 

Other powers conferred on the PAP in the Malabo Protocol include the “Exercise of legislative functions through the formulation of draft Model Laws in areas determined by the AU Assembly or as may be proposed by the PAP; Systematically consider and submit opinions on draft Legal Instruments, Treaties, and other international agreements; Receive and consider reports of other AU Organs (except Assembly, Council and the Court) including audit reports”. 

 

On the administrative side, the PAP Malabo Protocol will introduce the position of “Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General; Secretary-General is Accounting Officer; and Powers and functions of the Secretary-General are clearly stipulated”. 

 

It further provides for the “Exclusive and Non-Concurrent Membership of 5 years, renewable once; Bureau of PAP to be elected on a rotational basis; Term of office of the President and the Vice-Presidents: 2 and a half years renewable once; Election of the President of PAP shall be presided over by the Chairperson of the Assembly; Vote by proxy will be allowed; and the Allowances of Bureau Members and MPs to be paid by the Member States (Art 10 of Malabo Protocol)”.

 

The Malabo Protocol is very gender-sensitive and has increased women's participation in the Pan-African Parliament. It stipulates that “At least two (2) of the Bureau Members must be women, and At least two (2) of the elected Parliamentarian from each Member State must be a woman”

 

Countries that have ratified the PAP Malabo Protocol so far are Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Togo.

 

Inaugurated in 2004, the Pan-African Parliament is an organ of the African Union whose purpose is “to ensure the full participation of African peoples in the development and economic integration of the continent.” The Parliament is intended as a platform for people from all African states to be involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent.