The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has signed the agreement paving way for the transformation of the SADC Parliamentary Forum into a SADC Parliament.
DRC President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi, on Thursday delegated his envoy to Angola, Kalala Mayiba Constantin to sign the agreement at the SADC headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana.
The DRC became the 12th SADC member State to sign, reaching the quorum for the 16-member bloc to set up a regional parliament.
With the DRC coming on board, work to finalise the protocol on the SADC Parliament which needs to be signed and ratified by two-thirds of SADC member States, is now set to begin in earnest, according to SADC PF secretary- general Boemo Sekgoma.
Zambia became the 11th SADC Member State to sign the agreement during the 55th Plenary Assembly session of the SADC PF.
Speaking during that session, SADC PF president Roger Mancienne who is also the Speaker of the National Assembly of Seychelles, called on member States to move as one on the amendment to the SADC Treaty and Protocol.
A few more countries are yet to sign the agreement, among them Botswana, Madagascar and Mauritius, and efforts to bring them on board are intensifying.
Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, who chairs the SADC PF lobby group, has hailed the DRC for signing the agreement.
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“I am extremely thrilled as the team leader of the lobby group that this has happened after 10 years of lobbying for the transformation of SADC PF into a SADC regional Parliament. We look forward to the adoption of the SADC Transformation Protocol being adopted at the upcoming SADC Summit under the chairmanship of President (of Zimbabwe), Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa this August,” he said.
He added: “The lobby team will engage Botswana, Madagascar and Mauritius to also sign up in the spirit of parliamentary collegiate.”
The SADC PF secretary-general said the signing of the agreement by the required 12 SADC member States is “a culmination of the wishes of the heads of States and government and their commitment to parliamentary democracy”.
She appreciated the “swiftness” with which the member States signed the agreement.
“It says a lot about the cooperation between the SADC secretariat and the SADC PF, and the effectiveness of the task team that was initially led by Yapoka Mungandi in making sure that we roll over all the stones and prepare the ground to get to where we are,” she said.
Sekgoma added that the signing of the agreement also shows that the executive and parliament can work together. She said with the agreement now signed, work on the protocol on the SADC Parliament would begin.
“The protocol will be circulated in line with a resolution of the SADC Summit to shape the SADC Parliament,” she said.
She reiterated calls for all SADC member States to sign the agreement.
“The resolution of the 55th Plenary of SADC PF is clear. We do not want an asymmetry that will leave others behind. The agreement remains open for signing by member States that are yet to sign,” she stressed.
