Deputy Speaker, hon members of this House, I really appreciate being able to take part in this debate to mark Africa Day under the theme "African renewal, advancement and development".
Although we are a diverse people, varying in regard to colour, religion, belief, language, culture and gender, today we are united by the fact that we share a common identity as Africans. As such, we share a common destiny for which we must all work.
The theme for this year's Africa Day demands of us that we transcend our differences and unite for the renewal, advancement and development of our continent. It demands of us that we rise above political differences, embrace one another and work for the common good of the continent.
Importantly, it demands of us that we think about the people that have elected us, serve them and become their voices as they seek to live in a better environment, and enjoy better opportunities under the African sun. When our constituencies across the continent demand development, they are doing so because they know that they deserve a better deal. They are demanding what is, in fact, their right.
In 1986, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development as an inalienable human right. This means that each citizen of the world, or group of citizens, is entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development.
Colonialism is the major contributor to underdevelopment on the continent. It is the source of disunity among our African people. Of course, we have had a calibre of African leaders who have perpetuated the ravages of colonialism by neglecting their duty towards the people.
As Africans we have asserted our right to lead our development and to solve conflicts that are the cause of instability on the continent. However, we have often been criticised for acceding to foreign nations in order to solve our problems when instability sets in. We need to guard against this by strengthening our institutions.
On the other hand, while conflicts still form part of the challenges facing the continent, there is no denying that Africa is rising again. The Economist recently confirmed that Africa is beginning to shine. The news magazine reported that six of the top fastest growing countries worldwide between 2001 and 2010 were in Africa, led by Angola with 11% growth in annual gross domestic product.
Members in this Chamber know that in international forums South Africa is regarded as a shining example of democracy. It is a "stirring giant", to quote from an edition of The Economist which was published in June 2010 on the eve of the first Fifa World Cup in Africa, here in our country, South Africa, that we love and that is the best. [Applause.]
These are encouraging observations, especially given that at the turn of this century we declared the 21st century the African century. You don't stop celebrating in your family and your own country because you have problems; you celebrate even if there are challenges in your family or your country. [Applause.] You don't wait and say you will solve all the problems but forget about the good things that you have achieved in your family or your country. I think we need to be very, very careful in what we say when we stand here and debate, and talk to our people that have placed us in the positions we are in today. [Applause.]
During his visit to Ghana in 2009, the president of the United States of America Barack Obama, called on Africa to put democracy and good governance at the front and centre of its future. He reminded us that Africa does not need strong men, but Africa needs strong institutions. One of the things we have to bear in mind and make sure happens is that our institutions, such as this Parliament, are very strong. Our chapter 9 institutions must be very strong. I don't know what they call them in other countries. Our government must be very strong, as must all governments on the continent, in order for us to progress and make the lives of our people better.
In the area of good governance we have, for example, the African Peer Review Mechanism, the APRM, which is one of the most ambitious and innovative governance exercises. It provides important opportunities for public policy dialogue. Its approach is unique in both scope and breadth and it takes a comprehensive view of all the aspects of a country's governance system. It provides for a new participatory process that identifies governance deficiencies and verifies the adoption, consolidation and prescription of appropriate policies for the achievement of socioeconomic and political objectives. These are the mechanisms that we have put in place.
Let's not just talk about the challenges, but let's also talk about what we can do to resolve the challenges. In the governing of a country this means that you don't just point out the failures, but that you also point out what can be done to correct the things that hinder progress in any country or on any continent. [Applause.]
Currently, 30 countries have voluntarily acceded to the APRM by signing the memorandum of understanding. South Africa was one of the first countries to do this. This APRM membership represents 76% of the African population. However, despite its novelty, the mechanism still has some challenges that must be dealt with, such as the slow pace in implementation at both the national and continental levels.
In 2007, the African Union adopted the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. The charter commits member states to upholding the values of good governance and democracy, and stresses their critical role in the development of the continent. There is no doubt that democratisation and democratic consolidation are major components of Africa's shared values.
We also note the progress, albeit slow, with regard to the integration of the continent, as required by the treaty establishing the African Economic Community, that is, the Abuja Treaty. What we need to be careful about, though, are the challenges that result from the many trading blocs or regional economic communities, Recs, that we currently have.
There is also the New Partnership for Africa's Development, Nepad, an African programme for overcoming marginalisation and poverty on the continent. It emphasises regional co-operation and integration, and is premised on African states, making commitments to good governance, democracy and human rights, while endeavouring to prevent and resolve situations of conflict and instability on the continent.
This year is characterised by an unprecedented number of elections on the continent: 27 in total. In some cases, though, instead of elections, serving as the necessary and appropriate instruments for peaceful transformation, they have sparked deep crisis and conflicts that have left their societies deeply fractured. Elections are not the panacea for deficient democratic institutions and practices. To quote the 2011 World Development Report: "Democratization does not start or end with elections."
This is one of the areas that we as Africans must improve substantially. One way of doing this is by ratifying and implementing the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance that I have just spoken about South Africa has ratified it, and I am happy about that. We must stop the debates and arguments that the systems in these not-so-democratic countries are forms of African democracy. That is wrong, as there are no different forms of democracy. Democracy takes one form and that is ``government of the people, by the people'' full stop! Nothing else! That's what democracy is.
While we reserve the right to take pride in our successes as a continent, we must also deal with hard issues. We need to look at the challenges of Africa today, and the strides we are making to fashion better solutions.
Some of the major challenges that we are faced with as a continent are current conflict situations, especially in the north. Some members have already mentioned this.
We cannot sit back, fold our arms and say that we are not going to help our brothers and sisters in those countries. We will stand up and do so. We know South Africa is very, very eager to get involved, and interested in doing so, in order to solve and resolve issues to assist our brothers and sisters on the continent. We are not going to get tired of doing that. We are going to continue to do it, because they are our brothers and sisters on the continent. We are not going to wait for somebody from outside to come to assist, and then wake up. We are going to try to assist ourselves.
It is commendable that there are programmes at AU level that deal with conflicts, such as the African Peace and Security Architecture, Apsa - not Absa, the bank which provides the continent with a guiding framework for preventing, managing and resolving conflicts, as well as for pursuing post- conflict reconstruction and development.
Nonetheless, additional efforts are needed to develop Apsa to its full capacity, especially with regard to the African Standby Force and the Continental Early Warning System. Both these components, within the overall framework of Apsa, are meant to play a major role in African Union peace efforts.
Those are the mechanisms that the African Union has put in place that people have to read about, to study, and to stand up and debate about in their parliaments in order to ensure that we implement all the international treaties and agreements that we have ratified in our parliaments. That's our job as Members of Parliament.
The Pan-African Parliament has also, in its own right, passed a number of resolutions dealing with conflicts on the continent. At the recent fourth session of the Second Parliament, which took place from 9 to 20 May 2011 in Midrand, the Pan-African Parliament resolved, as it has been doing, to send a fact-finding mission to Libya to gain first-hand information on the situation there. This is the decisiveness that we need, and not to rely solely on reports by the people.
One limitation of the PAP's effectiveness is its lack of legislative power. This limitation has resulted in its operating at the mercy of the AU executive, especially the African Union Commission. This is one area that must be corrected very soon, and it is indeed happening. The process of transforming the Pan-African Parliament into a legislative body is well on track. As members may know, the PAP currently has only consultative and advisory powers. But for it to be a true voice of the people of Africa, it must have legislative powers, as is typical of any parliament. As we speak, the AU is finalising the amendments to the PAP protocol to ensure that the PAP does have legislative powers.
All these initiatives and developments can only have a meaningful impact when fully supported by the international community and the various AU member states, individually and collectively. We the Parliament of South Africa must accelerate our efforts, as we have been doing, to facilitate the renewal, advancement and development of Africa.
We need to put all our efforts into ensuring that this century is indeed the African century, as we so proudly and courageously declared. The time has come for all of Africa to turn weapons that fuel conflicts, where there are still conflicts, into ploughshares for development. I thank you all. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly adjourned the Joint Sitting at 17:18.
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Looking ahead to the second decade of the new century, we are full