African Unification Front
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Sept 18, 2004
Second Session of African Parliament Opens with a Bash
The second session of the African Parliament opened, on Thursday morning, September 16, 2004, with a dazzling spectacle, as a jazz ensemble entertained delegates and guests assembled in the great hall at the Midrand Pan-African Parliament Chamber. The session is scheduled to last until October 7, 2004, and will mostly be occupied by setting rules and procedures for its operations.
 Miriam Makeba, affectionately known as Mama Afrika, gave a poetic rendition. Outside the great hall, dancers and drummers welcomed guests to the session who included India's president Abdul Kalam, and Ms. Chikage Oogi, who is the leader of Japan's House of Councillors, as well as Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
As the session opened, hundreds of protestors outside petitioned the African parliament to intercede with the administration of Robert Mugabe in the AU state of Zimbabwe. Responding to the concerns raised by the protestors, President Mongella said the problem of Zimbabwe is bound up in the colonial land dispensation. She said that the concerns of the protestors would also be raised formally in parliament, and that parliament would debate and address the issues. She also expressed concern over the crisis in Darfur.
 In her address to parliament, Africa's president Getrude Mongella said "The long quest for African integration has been fulfilled by the establishment of the African Union on September 9, 1999." Reiterating the purpose of African unification and integration she quoted Kwame Nkrumah, considered the father of the African Union, saying: "If we are to remain free and enjoy the full benefits of Africa's rich resources, we must unite to plan for our total defence and full exploitation of our material and human means in the full interest of our people. To go it alone will limit our horizons, curtail our exceptions and threaten our liberty."
Mongella said the African parliament is "intended to enable the peoples of Africa, through their elected representatives to make major contributions in terms of the African Union's major objective. The objective is to promote democratic principles and instititutions, popular participation and good governance. It is meant to be a parliament in which the voices of all Africans are heard."
She said her priorities for the parliament are greater African integration, gender issues, and dealing with Africa's wars and conflicts.
 The African Parliament has emerged as the central focus for causes across Africa. President Mongella wants a parliament that is not afraid to represent the views of the people. Mongella says her main objective is to establish a strong democratic institution within the growing environment of high hopes and expectations of a united and a well developed Africa. She says one of the parliaments biggest challenges is to establish processes that will facilitate for the participation and integration of all peoples in Africa.
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