In Summary: Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa Thursday briefed Pacific parliamentarians on proposed reforms to strengthen the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Parliamentary Assembly, including establishing a common fund to reduce reliance on external financing, improve institutional effectiveness and give the three regional groups a stronger voice.
Brussels, Belgium — Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has briefed parliamentarians from the Pacific region on proposed reforms aimed at strengthening the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Parliamentary Assembly and improving its effectiveness.
Tayebwa, who also serves as President of the OACPS and Co-President of the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, met members of the Pacific Parliamentary Group in Brussels on Thursday.
Key among the proposals is the establishment of a common fund supported by contributions from the organisation’s three regional groups to improve the Assembly’s financial independence.
Tayebwa said earlier discussions with African parliamentarians and the Caribbean group had raised concerns about the Assembly’s reliance on external financing, which he said had made planning difficult and limited its ability to implement its priorities. “Our reliance on external financing has made planning difficult and limited our ability to act on our priorities,” he said.
Under the proposed arrangement, each region would contribute to a common fund according to its financial capacity. The resources would support the Assembly’s shared work and regional parliamentary activities.
Each region would determine how much it could contribute and which activities it wished to support, while ensuring proper financial management and accountability. “If we don’t have our own means to organise our work and implement it, then we shall remain just making speeches,” Tayebwa said.
Other proposed reforms include strengthening regional representation in the OACPS leadership, improving the work of committees and working groups, and expanding engagement with other parliamentary institutions.
On institutional reforms, Hon Tayebwa said equitable regional representation in the Assembly’s leadership should be maintained, including through the existing two-year rotation of offices. He also emphasised the need for dedicated technical and administrative staff to prepare the Assembly’s work, ensure timely circulation of documents and follow up on decisions.
Stronger committees and working groups, he said, would enable parliamentarians to examine issues in greater depth and connect the Assembly’s work to national legislation, budgets and oversight.
Tayebwa identified climate resilience, oceans, fisheries and connectivity as areas where Pacific parliamentarians could make important contributions to the Assembly’s work.
On international engagement, he said the Assembly should expand its partnerships beyond the European Parliament and strengthen cooperation with other parliamentary institutions around the world. “We need an agenda of our own that extends beyond our meetings with the European Parliament,” he said.
Tayebwa said the proposed reforms should make the Assembly more effective, responsive to its members and better equipped to represent the interests of OACPS countries.
The engagement with the Pacific Parliamentary Group is part of a series of consultations Tayebwa is holding in Brussels with parliamentary groups from the three OACPS regions ahead of the 65th session of the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly, which he will chair, and meetings of the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, which he will co-chair.
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