Let’s maintain stability in PAP to ensure smooth operations
The Chairman of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Committee on Monetary and Financial Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, has expressed the need for “stability” in the Parliament to ensure the smooth work of the house.
He observed that over the years, the PAP had been plagued by crises from internal wrangling, which he believed had affected the budgetary allocation from the African Union Commission (AUC).
“I plead with you, there is no perfect system, there will be issues, but we can deal with them if we have the stability,” he added.
Alhaji Muntaka, who is the Member of Parliament for Asawase Constituency and one of Ghana’s representative to the PAP, was responding to comments from members, after an extensive debate on the report on the PAP budget for 2024 and budget allocation for 2025, he presented to the Plenary Sitting of the Third Session of the PAP here in Midrand.
The report provided an analysis of budget execution for the year 2023, the approved budget for the year 2024 and the proposed budget for the year 2025 guided by the AU Budget Framework Paper.
The members in their contribution decried the perennial issue of inadequate budgetary allocation in the deliberation of the Parliament, saying that if the PAP failed in executing its activities, it would affect the work of the AUC.
Alhaji Muntaka said though it was difficult to state why the AU had been cutting the PAP budgetary allocation, he said most of the time “we created the challenges for ourselves, PAP has not operated a full financial year without internal problems.”
In presenting the report, Alhaji Muntaka said over the years, the AU had prepared its budget based on the principle of austerity and implementation of AU Golden rules together with budget ceilings set by the policy organs.
“The total approved budget for the year 2023 is $11,992,597. The PAP did not receive any supplementary budget in the year despite its request.
However, it was allowed to vire funds along certain budget lines. When compared to the approved budget for the year 2022 of $12,657,242 giving a decrease of 5.3 per cent from the 2022 budget.
The decrease though nominal has a great negative impact on our proposed budget for the year 2025,” Alhaji Muntaka added.
He said the committee developed a budget proposal of $25,195,192 for the year 2025, adding the “committee would like to inform the house to take note of our expected budget for 2025 as discussed by the union’s policy organs in readiness for submission to the Executive Council is $10,124,278.”
Alhaji Muntaka expressed the need to “think outside the box” to pursue alternative sources of revenue to fund the activities of PAP.
Furthermore, the Chairman of the PAP Committee on Monetary and Financial Affairs emphasised the need to “urgently seek a meeting with the Heads of the AU Reforms to discuss the budget allocation given to PAP.”
Alhaji also urged the PAP Bureau to put in place advocacy strategy to improve the AU Budget to PAP that reflected the needs of the Parliament.
The Prime Minister of Eswatini, Russel Dlamini, addressed the Parliament on “Unpacking the issue of Pan-Africanism: The role of the PAP.”
FROM ALHAJI SALIFU ABDUL-RAHAMAN, MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA
