NAIROBI-President William Ruto has asked the Pan-African Parliament to amplify its voice on crucial issues that affect the continent.
The President asked the continental parliament to encourage democratic institutions across Africa to ensure free, fair and credible elections. He spoke when he met the president of the Pan-African Parliament, Mr Fortune Charumbira, and the Kenyan delegation at State House Nairobi.“It is the people who decide their leaders and we must continue to defer to them,” President Ruto said.
The President asked the Pan-African Parliament to”tie the loose ends” on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, saying the bloc provides Africa immense opportunities for exponential economic growth through trade and investment.
“Today, Africa contributes only three per cent of global trade yet it has 17 per cent of the world’s population and market,” President Ruto said.
By 2050, the President pointed out, Africa will be home to 25 per cent of the world’s population and a huge market.“We must organise the African market to work for us and not to work for others”.
On climate change, President Ruto said it was time for Africa to end the use of fossil fuels and embrace renewable sources of energy, adding that the continent has the largest untapped reservoirs of clean energy.
Mr Charumbira invited President Ruto to a climate summit hosted by the Pan-African Parliament in Midrand, South Africa, next month.
He commended Kenya for holding free and fair elections last year. “What happens in Kenya means a lot to the whole continent.”
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, Mr Amason Kingi (Senate) and Environment and Climate Change Principal Secretary Festus Ng’eno attended the meeting.
Kenyan members of the Pan-African Parliament Esther Passaris (Nairobi), Rahab Mùkami (Nyeri), Majimbo Kalasinga (Kabuchai), Danson Mungatana (Tana River) and Margaret Kamar (Nominated Senator) among others were also present.