Cape Town, 15 August 2000
Madam Speaker
Members of the Parliamentary Association
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wish to extend a warm welcome to all the delegates from other parts of our continent to this the 31st African Region Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. We are truly honoured to be hosting this important gathering just a few years after our admission into the Commonwealth of Nations.
We hope that this conference will take forward some of the matters relating to the functioning of our parliaments, to enhance good governance and ensure political stability and the rule of law, within a framework of democracy.
African parliaments, all over the continent, have one thing in common, and that is their colonial heritage. By virtue of our common past we, by and large, share a similar history in terms of the manner in which the institution have been run.
It is an unfortunate fact that due to our colonial history we were, for a long time, regarded as junior partners in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
Therefore it is with this background that we appreciate the efforts that are being made to transform our parliaments so that they reflect the realities of our continent, and clearly work out the kind of relationship, reflecting mutual respect with other countries of the world.
We are mindful that this needs to be done within the many dynamics that exist in many of our countries that do their best to practice democracy within the constraints of "age old traditions". Critical to this is the question of democracy and the role that our parliaments should play in enhancing it. The fact is that our fledgling democracies need to be nurtured so that they may take root and grow stronger.
Brothers and Sisters, the question of democracy and the role of parliament are two of the most challenging questions of our times to parliamentarians. Given the importance of this question, it is crucial that this conference, among other things, addresses the question of the role of parliaments in ensuring that democracy is deepened on our continent.
We need to agree that parliamentarians, as elected public representatives, should ensure that the will of the majority governs the agenda of our countries, that it influences the setting of the agenda for the governments.
We have spoken before about the role of parliamentarians in ensuring that democracy is deepened on our continent. We have urged that parliamentarians should play their role as elected public representatives of the people and ensure that the will of the majority prevails in their countries, and influences the agenda of their governments.
Parliamentarians must also influence a process of establishing institutions that are aimed at guaranteeing that democracy cannot be reversed by individuals or individual political parties.
We need to have the kind of democratic systems that are capable of withstanding the changes at political leadership as well as political party levels. In other words it must have an in-built mechanism to ensure that there is no abuse of power. This is a task for parliaments more than any other institution of our society.
It would also be important for the conference to address the issue of the parliaments' responsibility ton ensure that the voice of the silent masses is hear, particularly on issues that matter the most to them. Oe of these issues, for example is the issue of conflicts that plague our continent. It is the ordinary voters, the very people on whose behalf we say we are governing our countries, who are victims of these conflicts.
In the majority of cases their plight and suffering is ignored as those who cause war seek to achieve their objectives at all cost. It the role of parliaments in reality is to maintain democratic systems and to ensure that democratic principles are upheld, then we must be more frank in our approach to these questions.
It therefore goes without saying that parliaments, as institutions composed of elected public representatives of the people, should play a bigger role than they have been doing, to ensure that the will of the people, indeed, prevails. This means that our parliaments must guide the executives in handling the important matter of governance - it should not be the other way round.
If Parliaments do not play their role we should know that they slowly open up an opportunity for other interests that may be detrimental to the desires of the people.
It would also be important for this conference to address issues facing our continent, such as how our parliaments could support the Organisation of African Unity. It is a recognised fact that the OAU takes many good resolutions which, in the majority of cases, governments fail to implement for various reasons. Some of these resolutions relate to the wars and conflict on the continent and their implementation would be to, the benefit of the people.
The question that we need to ask is, what role should our parliaments play to ensure that these resolutions are implemented by all governments? In my view, no other institution is better placed than parliaments to answer this question.
We strongly believe that the majority of Africans are tired of the perennial was in conflict-torn countries and do not wish to see the conflicts continue - yet they do. The question that arises is, what role do parliamentarians play in their respective parliaments to ensure that this reality about what the people would want to see happen is reflected in their national agenda?
I have no doubt in my mind that if our parliaments played their role and carried out their mandates appropriately, we would experience fewer conflicts on our continent. We, as public representatives, should not allow ourselves to become spectators whilst our countries are in conflict with one another or within themselves.
We need to defend the wishes of our electorates and therefore defend democratic principles, the rule of law and respect for one another.
It is clear to me that the role of parliaments should extend far beyond mere passing of legislation. Parliamentarians should be in the forefront in debating national issues and influencing public discourse. As public representatives there ought to be no issues that parliaments are not able to discuss.
As we have declared this century an African century, it is crucial that we transform the manner in which we conduct ourselves. We need to respect ourselves first, if we are to be respected by the international community, as a continent.
If we are to take our rightful place and make a meaningful contribution on global matters, we have to be seen to have the capacity to address our own issues, solve our own problems and create a culture of respecting one another. This would, by and large, by guaranteed if our parliamentary systems played the role that is expected of them.
Public representatives must be given the necessary respect and democratically elected parliaments must be accepted as the authentic voice of the majority.
Ladies and Gentlemen, It is encouraging to note that the issue of women forms such an important part of your agenda, as suggested by the President of Malawi, at your 29th conference in his country. Women form a large part of the population on our continent and need to be empowered to play a greater role in its affairs.
In this regard there is a need for the inclusion of more women without our parliamentary systems. Deepening democracy in Africa does not only entail holding regular elections, it is a much broader concept, an important part of which is the recognition and respect of the rights of all citizens. It is important that the CPA promotes this broader concept of democracy, and the inclusion of greater numbers of women in our parliaments is an important step.
Brothers and Sisters, The questions I have raised this morning have been raised throughout the continent in many forums. We hope that during your deliberations you will revisit some of the agreements that have been reached over the years and assess whether we are indeed doing what we have said we should do for many years.
We should ensure that we do not end up as just another talk shop, reaching agreement after agreement at conference after conference, while the problems that need our attention continue.
If other institutions on the continent have not succeeded to address the problems, this institution must succeed, for it is the institution that represents the people, and I believe, is the institution that can guarantee democracy, the rule of law and the will of the majority.
I therefore wish you success in your deliberations. I feel more confident that as we go about governing our countries, there is now a forum that is earnestly discussing ways and means to help our continent in ensuring that it remains stable and ready for development for the benefit of its people.
I thank you