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| Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila |
…make “Accountability Pledge” for better oversight regarding Africa’s Loans.
…Nigeria to host maiden CoSAP conference in 2021
Speakers and Heads of African Parliaments have commenced with a campaign for debt cancellation for African countries, in the wake of the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on African economies.
However, the push for debt cancellation came with a pledge to improve oversight regarding loan approvals and ensure judicious and transparent utilisation of loans in their respective countries, it emerged on Monday.
This followed the official formation and launching of the Conference of Speakers and Heads of African Parliaments (CoSAP) initiated by the Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila along with his African counterparts: Hon. Tagesse Chafo, Speaker, House of Peoples, Ethiopia; Hon. Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, Speaker of Parliament, Republic of Ghana; Hon. Justin Bedan Muturi, Speaker, National Assembly, Kenya; Hon. Donatille Mukabalisa, Speaker, Chamber of Deputies, Rwanda; Hon. Moustapha Niasse, President, National Assembly, Republic of Senegal; and Hon. Thandi Modise, Speaker, National Assembly, South Africa. Others from across Africa are expected to join in due course.
The presiding officers of the African legislatures, in a virtual meeting on Monday, took an “Accountability Pledge” making a firm commitment to advocate for debt cancellation and to ensure that all resources made available from debt relief are transparently used and fully accounted for.
Gbajabiamila, in his remarks, said “Today officially marks the beginning of this historic initiative, and I want us to remember this as a historic day, not just for us as Speakers and Heads of Parliaments with a vision, but for our continent Africa. This is a forum to deliberate, strategise and collaborate in jointly finding legislative solutions to Africa’s many challenges; we will partner with all stakeholders at home and abroad to make our vision a reality.โ He emphasised the need for advocacy for the expansion and the buy-in of other African Speakers and Heads of Parliament and stated that he was also pleased that the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Ms. Gabriela Cuevas Barron has also shown support for CoSAP.
โWe have managed to achieve so much in this little time, but this is not the time to rest on our oars but to work even harder. We must put more pressure and effort than before and act with more strength and vigour that we can muster so that our voices can be heard more clearly both domestically and internationally.
โThe next couple of weeks will serve as a major determinant of this initiative, but Iโm confident that we are more than capable, especially because we are aware that our people are relying on us to see this vision and initiative to fruitionโ.
Adopting their “Accountability Pledge” to officially launch CoSAP, the members agreed to ensure, through the assigned constitutional powers of the legislature, that freed-up resources from debt relief are not misused, but are invested in social, economic and human capital development
They said: โWe pledge to include citizens in open and participatory processes to decide the appropriate use of such funds, to publish all relevant budgetary information on funds expended.
โWe pledge to revise the current loan application procedures of our countries to ensure that subsequent loan collections are properly monitored, from commencement to completion, through our respective legislative powers.
โWe pledge to work collaboratively as Speakers and Heads of African parliaments to ensure that all resources invested in Africa are channelled into the wholesome development of the continent.
โWe pledge to partner with international and national organisations, public and private sectors as well as civil society organisations to keep us accountable and actualise our stated commitments to ensure that government is more transparent and accountable to our citizensโ.
A communiquรฉ issued at the end of the meeting noted that having had two meetings of the CoSAP, with the vision of initiating an African Speakers Debt Cancellation Campaign Initiative (DCCI), the members set for themselves some objectives that include to discuss and agree on a Plan of Action on how to collaborate and contribute in the ongoing campaign for Africaโs debt relief.
Besides, the group will discuss and engage with other Speakers across the continent with the possibility of organising the first Conference of Speakers and Heads of African Parliaments (CoSAP) in Abuja by 2021, depending on the outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The communique reads in part: โWe, the Speakers and Heads of Parliaments who participated in these meetings offer our support for the call and need for debt cancellation for Africa because of the extra burden of debt servicing, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic on African countries
โThe emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has posed an extra burden on African countries such that extra expenditure is required on health and other related sectors that were not budgeted for to curb the spread of the virus;
โWe accept that our various Parliaments have a role to play on issues of transparency and accountability, tackling corruption, and improving oversight over loan approvals and judicious utilisation of the same in our respective countries.
โThe Debt Cancellation Campaign Initiative (DCCI) therefore, seeks to campaign for the cancellation of African debts in order to provide fiscal space for economic recovery and development on the continent in the wake of Covid-19โ.
Accordingly, an official logo, plan of action, a debt cancellation advocacy strategy and an outreach strategy for ensuring other Speakers across the continent are engaged, has been adopted by the Speakers and Head of Parliaments.
In his remarks, Prof. Quaye said the vision of CoSAP, as well as the accountability pledge undertaken, were necessary because African bilateral and multilateral partners needed to be assured of the sincerity of the leadership of the African parliaments to ensure accountability in the application of the forgiven debt.
He said: โFirst, the accountability pledge is very crucial because we all know the suspicion that has dogged the developing nations for so long. To encourage them to release funds, not only as a way of suspending our payments but cancelling all that we owed, we need to ensure that they are persuaded about accountability.
โWe also know, that many African governments are rather unfortunately under suspicion. Therefore, parliaments here, as an institution of accountability, perhaps would know exactly how to ensure that these debt relief measures are well taken, monies would be directed to appropriate sources. Thatโs very important because we have to commit to improving the public financial management and reviewing the launch regime in our various countries, which have been captured by these documents.
On his part, Hon. Muturi, Speaker, National Assembly, Kenya while endorsing the launch of the group and the accountability pledge, said the event of the day was significant and showed how committed the leadership of African parliaments are.
โIn signing this Communique and Accountability Pledge, we will be pledging to promote efficient use of resources, particularly those accruing from debt and promoting citizen participation and be open in the use of the funds, review the policies in our countries and to ensure that all loans, if at all, are properly negotiated and they are used appropriately and we will collaborate as Speakers and Heads of Parliaments to ensure that all resources are channelled into the development of their communitiesโ.
Hon. Niasse, AFP, President, National Assembly, Republic of Senegal said the launch of CoSAP was not only historic for Africa and the evolution of the world, but it has also provided an opportunity for change, considering the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the socio-economic and human capital development on the continent.
โTo address this situation, we need a strategy that will culminate in a full and comprehensive debt cancellation, which this group represents. This step is very necessary for us to build a more equitable society, His called for all Heads of African Parliaments to join the initiative and work together in a concerted and consensual way to reinforce the chance of reaching the objective of a full and comprehensive cancellation of Africaโs debt. โSuccessful cancellation of Africa debt will ease the way for African governments to address properly, the multidimensional challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and will give us more capacity to contribute to building a more equitable and secure worldโ.
In her remarks, while expressed her pleasure over the launch of CoSAP and the Accountability Pledge, Hon. Modise, Speaker, National Assembly, South Africa emphasised that the adopted documents would aid her advocacy for CoSAP in the Southern African sub-region, presenting the new group to her counterparts in the region and to regional bodies like the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) parliamentary forum.
She said: โWhile presenting this, we need to convince them to accept that, indeed this is coming at the right time when not only Covid-19 but is in effect but the economic situation has been worsening and putting us into dire straits. She also stated that this initiative must help address the issues of inequality and gender disparity in Africa, as the newly adopted logo of CoSAP depicts.
In the next few months, the Speakers will be engaging with all local, regional and international actors across all stakeholder groups to campaign for the cancellation of Africaโs debt and aim to come together for a maiden conference in Abuja in 2021 as they seek more ways in which Africaโs parliamentary leaders can work together to address the continentโs challenges.
