Brussels, Belgium | NEWS CORRESPONDENT | Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has briefed parliamentarians from the Pacific region on proposed reforms to strengthen the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Parliamentary Assembly, improve its effectiveness and give the three regional groups a stronger voice in its work.
Tayebwa, who also serves as President of the OACPS and Co-President of the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, met the Pacific Parliamentary Group in Brussels on Thursday.
Key among the proposals is the need for the Assembly to achieve greater financial independence by establishing a common fund supported by contributions from its three regions. Tayebwa said that during earlier discussions with African parliamentarians and the Caribbean group, members had raised concerns about the Assembly’s reliance on external financing.
“Our reliance on external financing has made planning difficult and limited our ability to act on our priorities,” Tayebwa said.
The proposed arrangement would establish a common fund to which each region would contribute according to its 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,” he 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, Tayebwa said equitable regional representation in the Assembly’s leadership should be maintained, including through the existing two-year rotation of offices.
He further emphasised the need for dedicated technical and administrative staff to prepare the Assembly’s work, ensure the timely circulation of documents and follow up on decisions. Stronger committees and working groups, he said, would allow parliamentarians to examine issues in greater depth and connect the Assembly’s work to national legislation, budgets and oversight.
He identified climate resilience, oceans, fisheries and connectivity as areas where Pacific parliamentarians could contribute to the Assembly’s work.
On international engagement, Tayebwa 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.
