[This is the version of this document from 18 May 2017.]
THE PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENT,CONSIDERING Article 17 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, which establishes the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to ensure the full participation of the people of Africa in the development and economic integration of the continent;CONSIDERING also Article 3 of the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Pan-African Parliament, and Rule 4 (a) of the Rules of Procedure of the Pan-African Parliament, which empowers the PAP to facilitate the implementation of policies, objectives and programmes of the African Union and to oversee their effective implementation;CONSIDERING FURTHER Article 4(2)(a) of the1991 Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (AEC), envisioning the advancement of continental integration through the strengthening of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as building blocks to continental solidarity and integration;RECALLING the 1980-2000 Lagos Plan of Action for Economic Development, which envisaged creation of the African Common Market that would allow free movement of goods, services and labour to increase Africa’s self-sufficiency;RECOGNIZING that sound and efficient transport network is a key driver for African integration and a fundamental facilitator of Africa’s economic development through increased mobility of labour, technology integration and intra-African trade;MINDFUL that inadequate network and poor state of existing transport infrastructure is a hindrance to the realization of the aspirations of the1980-2000 Lagos Plan of Action for Economic Development and the 1991 Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (AEC) to fully integrate Africa;ACKNOWLEDGING the tremendous progress made by NEPAD in mitigating the poor state of transport infrastructure in Africa by identifying and pursuing key transport corridor projects for efficient transport infrastructure connectivity in Africa and formulating strategies for implementation of those projects;EMPHASIZING that timely ratification and domestication of AU and RECs transport sector instruments is key in accelerating attainment of improved transport infrastructure in Africa;IN ACCORDANCE WITH Rule 5 (b), (c) and (d) of the Rules of Procedure of the Pan-African Parliament, which empowers the PAP to, inter alia, organize debate, discuss, express an opinion, advice make recommendations and take resolutions on the objectives and on any matters relating to the African Union and its organs, Regional Economic Communities, Member States and their organs and institutions;NOW HEREBY RECOMMENDS THAT:1.NEPAD and the AU Commission support institutions of learning to enhance training and capacity building for technicians and engineers through research/training at selected universities in the various regions and partnering with the transport sector in these regions for placement of student-engineers/technicians for practical attachment to enable them tackle infrastructure challenges in Africa;2.The AU facilitate intra-Africa education exchange programmes and harmonization of the engineering and technology training across the continent so as to produce technicians and engineers capable of handling infrastructure projects in respective Member States of the Regional Member Countries (RMCs);3.The AU Commission initiate the recast of education curriculum for technologist and engineers to focus on African infrastructure challenges, imparting appropriate social skills and practical competencies to increase their employability in their countries and across the continent;4.The African Union partner with development partners and select universities to put in place an engineering scholarship programme to fund promising engineers/academics to study in specialized fields and undertake research aimed at finding solutions to Africa’s infrastructure challenges;5.The Governments of AU Members States submit to their National Parliaments all treaties, agreements and protocols on the transport sector improvement for ratification in order to enable AU Agencies, particularly NEPAD to speed up implementation of key projects and unlock the full socio-economic potential of Africa;6.The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and national governments of Regional Member Countries (RMCs) increase their collaboration with NEPAD in undertaking feasibility studies, sourcing finances and implementation of infrastructure projects.Adopted at Midrand, South Africa 18 May 2017
