Gbajabiamila Leads Others Speaker Of African Parliaments In Quest For Debt Cancellation
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, is leading other Speakers of African Parliaments, to push for debt write-off for the Continent.
The helmsmen of parliaments on the continent, are also calling for improved” oversight over loan approvals and endure judicious utilization of loans in their respective countries”.
This, according to a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Lanre Lasisi, the occasion came on the heels of 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, due to the shared concern over the socio-economic effect of the coronavirus (Covid-19) on African counties.
Other members of the group include Hon. Tagesse Chafo, Speaker, House of Peoples, Ethiopia; Hon. Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, MP, Speaker of Parliament, Republic of Ghana, and Hon. Justin Bedan Muturi, Speaker, National Assembly, Kenya.
Others are Hon. Donatille Mukabalisa, Speaker, Chamber of Deputies, Rwanda; Hon. Moustapha Niasse, AFP, President, National Assembly, Republic of Senegal; and Hon. Thandi Modise, Speaker, National Assembly, South Africa. While Hon. Chafo, Speaker, House of Peoples, Ethiopia, and Hon. Mukabalisa, Speaker, Chamber of Deputies, Rwanda could not make the meeting, Speakers and Heads of Parliaments from Algeria, Morocco, Cote D’Ivoire, and Cape Verde were said to have fully announced their readiness to join the movement, according to the Chairman of CoSAP, Rep. Gbajabiamila.
The presiding officers of the African legislatures, in a virtual meeting on Monday, assured of their commitment to advocate for debt relief and to ensure that all resources made available from the debt relief efforts are transparently used and fully accounted for.
Gbajabiamila, in his remarks, emphasized the need for advocacy for the expansion and the buy-in of other African Speakers and Heads of Parliaments, saying the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Ms Gabriela Cuevas Barron has shown tremendous support for CoSAP. It emerged that Hon. Niasse, AFP, President, National Assembly, Republic of Senegal has been able to co-opt his Algeria, Morocco and Cote D’Ivoire, and Cape Verde into CoSAP.
“Today officially marks the beginning of this historic initiative, and I want us to remember this as a historical day, not just for us as Speakers and Heads of Parliaments with a vision but for our Continent, Africa.
“We 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.
“The next couple of weeks will serve as a major determinant of this initiative, but I’m 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 fruition”.
While affirming a Pledge of Accountability following the launching of CoSAP, the members agreed to ensure, through the assigned constitutional powers of the legislature, that freed-up resources are not misused, but are invested in social, economic, and human capital development.
They said: “We pledge to include citizens in open and participatory processes to decide the appropriate use of such funds, to publish all relevant budget information, and to implement open procurement and contracting for all funds expended.
“We 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.
“We 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.
“We pledge to partner with international and national organizations, public and private sectors as well as civil society organizations to keep us accountable and actualize our stated commitments to ensure that government is more transparent and accountable to our citizens”.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting noted that having had two meetings of the CoSAP, with the vision of 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 Africa’s debt relief.
Besides, the group will discuss and engage with other Speakers across the continent with the possibility of organizing the first Conference of Speakers and Heads of African Parliaments (COSAP) by 2021.
The communique reads in part: “We, 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.
“The 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; “We 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 utilization of the same in our respective countries.
“The 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-19”.
Accordingly, a 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, was 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: “First, 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.
