Parliament, Thursday, 24 July 2025 – The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Ms Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, has called on African Union (AU) Member States to urgently honour their financial commitments to the AU and its organs, particularly the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), to give full effect to the AU’s 2025 theme: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations.”
Chairperson Mtshweni-Tsipane, who is leading a multiparty parliamentary delegation to the Fifth Ordinary Session of the 6th Parliament of the PAP, spoke on Day 3 of the session, underway from July 21 to 31, following a debate on the theme.
“Africa’s pursuit of justice and reparations must be matched by concrete action and resourcing. The chronic underfunding of AU programmes risks rendering the theme hollow and undermining the Union’s moral and political authority on the global stage,” she said, adding that “reparations are not just a slogan.”
“They are a demand for justice, dignity, and redress for the injustices committed against the African people worldwide. Our demand for justice must be funded, and we cannot ask the world to take us seriously on reparations if we are unwilling to invest in the institutions leading the campaign.”
She expressed deep concern over the deteriorating fiscal situation at the PAP, whose budget has been slashed by more than 50 percent in less than a decade, taking it down from USD 23 million in 2017 to USD 11 million in 2025.
“A staggering 90% of the current PAP budget is consumed by staff salaries, leaving little resources for programme execution, oversight missions, legislative work, or even basic operations. This situation risks undermining the very democratic goals that the African Union promotes," she said.
In 2015, African Heads of State and Government committed to fund 100 percent of the AU’s operational budget, 75 percent of its programme budget and 25 percent of its peace support operations through domestic resources. However, a decade later, these targets remain unmet.
Chairperson Mtshweni-Tsipane emphasised that if the AU is to realise its goal of a self-reliant and people-driven continental governance body, urgent and bold steps must be taken to stabilise the financing of its institutions, particularly the PAP and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“We cannot build ‘The Africa We Want’ with institutions that are underfunded. The PAP and the AfCFTA need sufficient resources to fulfil their mandate and play their rightful role in integration and governance.”
For interviews with the parliamentary delegation attending the PAP Fifth Ordinary Session in Midrand, please contact Modise Kabeli on 081 715 9969 or by email: mkabeli@parliament.gov.za
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
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