Addressing the gathering, Pan African Parliament President Chief Fortune Charumbira underscored the critical bottlenecks impeding Africa’s integration efforts. He emphasized that persistent travel restrictions continue to hamper intra-African mobility, while the slow rollout of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) undermines the continent’s economic potential.
Central to his message was the urgent need to operationalize large-scale transnational infrastructure projects. Among them is the ambitious Trans-Saharan Highway (TAH 2), also referred to as the African Unity Road, a corridor designed to bridge six countries and catalyze trade and transport linkages across the continent. Charumbira argued that such infrastructure is not merely about roads, but about enabling the free flow of goods, people, and ideas, key ingredients for meaningful integration.
He also praised Morocco’s 2023 Atlantic Initiative, which seeks to unlock the potential of landlocked Sahel countries, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad, by granting them access to Moroccan port, road, and rail networks. This, he suggested, represents a practical blueprint for regional solidarity and economic interdependence. He urged regional bodies to back such transformative initiatives with tangible support to ensure they move from vision to reality.
Turning to technology, Charumbira challenged African parliaments to become enablers of the ongoing AI revolution. He called for legislative frameworks that not only regulate but actively promote innovation, arguing that lawmakers must be at the forefront of shaping a digital future that works for Africa.
In essence, the forum marks a pivotal moment for African legislators to align their policies with a forward-looking agenda, one that prioritizes infrastructure, trade, and technology as pillars for sustainable development and unity across the continent.
