AWEPA and the Spanish Senate hosted the EU Presidency Seminar on Africa entitled “Parliament and the MDGs in the Context of the Changing Aid Architecture: Prioritizing South-South Cooperation and NEPAD”.

The Seminar was held at the Spanish Senate in Madrid 25-26 February and was attended by 75 participants from Africa and Europe. Regional Parliamentary Bodies such as the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), the Maghreb Consultative Council (MCC) and Benelux Parliament participated as well as others including Members of Parliament from Spain, Ireland, Sweden, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nicaragua, Spanish foreign ministry officials, the NEPAD Secretariat, civil society representatives and experts.

Open discussions were facilitated in the context of the current state of the changing aid architecture, where there is a need to empower parliamentarians from the North and South to step up their role in the oversight of aid within both national and regional contexts. Conclusions reached through the discussions in the Seminar served as preparatory input to the High Level Event on South-South Cooperation (SSC) in Bogota Colombia in March 2010.

Over the course of the lively debates, participants confirmed that parliaments have a vital role to play in South-South Cooperation (SSC). This is especially the case in the context of Regional Parliamentary Bodies, which are institutional manifestations of South-South cooperation, but national parliaments have an equally important role to play. They must, for instance, work within their respective regional communities to ratify important legislation or support policy necessary for harmonization efforts within certain geographical areas. However, the African parliamentarians also put forward the constraints they are faced with in their work. The relationship with donors and the allocation of donor resources are dominated by the executive branch, with little effort by the international donor community to create more balance by stimulating the role of the legislature.

Various experiences in inter-parliamentary learning and cooperation were shared. Hon. Abdirahin Abdi, Speaker of East African Legislative Assembly, spoke about the establishment of a Customs Union which lead to an astonishing boost in intra-regional trade within the Partner States Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi. Hon. Mary Mugyenyi, Second Vice-President of the Pan African Parliament, provided examples of SSC initiatives undertaken, highlighting the offer of duty-free and quota free market access opportunities for Africa exports to China and India. The political will for SSC was addressed by Hon. Dr. Esau Chiyiya, Secretary General of the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF), who mentioned the focus of parliamentary work on the dissemination of good practices and capacity building. SADC PF has helped to establish electoral standards, he said, along with the construction of model laws such as on HIV and AIDS and advocacy for increased numbers of women members in parliaments.

From a national perspective Hon. Boris Mbuku Laka, Vice-President of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of Congo, informed the participants about the cooperation with China on infrastructure, export of minerals and building of schools and hospitals. Furthermore Senator Hon. Emmanuel Kisimba Kimba emphasized the need for triangular cooperation, with an equal partnership between Northern countries and Southern (African) countries supporting SSC.

In sum, the seminar served as an important preparatory event for the participation of Regional Parliamentary Bodies and other parliamentary participants in Roundtable VI on multi-stakeholder’s perspectives on SSC (co-chaired by AWEPA and Better Aid) held at the HLE on SSC in Bogota, Colombia.

* Presentations can be accessed here