Midrand - The second ordinary session of the fifth Parliament of the Pan African Parliament which opened in Midrand on Monday has sworn in several new members.
Subsequent to elections and change of regimes in a number of African states, at least 40 members of parliament from eight African countries that include Mauritania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kingdom of Eswatini and Guinea Bissau, were due to be sworn in as new members of the Pan African Parliament.
Uganda's James Kakooza was among those sworn in as new members of Parliament.
President of the Pan-African Parliament, Roger Nkodo Dang, said the on going session will, among other things, debate peace and security in Africa, the report on the statelessness and citizenship and the model law on policing.
“Honorable Legislators will engage on advancing the agenda of building viable and inclusive democracies in Africa as well as the industrial development on our continent, whose foundation is the Continental Free Trade Area; the protocol whose entry into force is much awaited,” said Dang, who is from Cameroon.
The Plenary Session will also be graced by the attendance of the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, H.E Moussa FAKI MAHAMAT who is expected to lead debates on the African Union (AU) theme of 2019, “The Year of Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa.”
In another development, the first female President of the United Arab Emirates’ Federal National Council, Hon Dr Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi addressed women Members of Parliament in a special session at the opening of the Fifth Legislature of the Pan African Parliament today
The ordinary session runs until 17 May 2019.