H.E Hom. Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of the Pan-African Parliament takes the floor to deliver opening remarks on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the first Ordinary Session of the sixth Parliament.
“On behalf of the Bureau of the Pan African Parliament, I extend a warm and fraternal welcome to you to the First Ordinary Session of the 6th Parliament of the Pan African Parliament which is being held under the African Union theme of the year, “Building resilience in nutrition on the African continent: Accelerate the human capital, social and economic development.” I stand here today, humbled by the enormity of the task before us and eternally grateful for the trust that Members of the Pan African Parliament have bestowed on our leadership and in our collective ability to accelerate the institutional development and growth of the Pan African Parliament. We embrace this task and the solemnity of our oath mindful that four Presidents have taken the presidential oath before me, including preceding five Bureaus and five Parliaments.
“ The promissory words of the oath have been spoken as much during rising tides of prosperity and still waters of peace as they have been during gathering clouds of conflict and raging storms of persistent economic challenges. At these moments, Africa has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but also because of the resilience of our people. As we open the First Ordinary Session of this 6th Parliament, my question to all of us is, what is going to be our place in history? What will differentiate the 6th Parliament of the Pan African Parliament from our predecessors?”