Johannesburg: AfricUpdate – News Desk
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has described parliaments as a vital bridge to connect citizens to the State. The Minister was delivering a keynote address on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa at the G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) held in Cape Town.
“Parliaments are the voices of the people and as such, aspire to reflect the diversity of their respective societies. Secondly, parliaments are tasked with creating the enabling legal frameworks for the progressive realisation of equality and for passing laws that align with the international commitments of their respective countries. Thirdly, parliaments hold governments accountable to their domestic and international commitments. They ensure that the necessary budgets are allocated to reflect these commitments. Beyond being chambers of debate, beyond advancing rights and overseeing executive power, parliaments are the crucial bridge between the citizen and State,” she said.
The P20 is a platform for Speakers and Presiding Officers from Parliaments of the G20 member countries to deliberate on how legislative bodies can contribute to the formulation and implementation of G20 decisions. The gathering was attended by these leaders as well as Speakers of South Africa’s provincial legislatures, Presidents and representatives of the African Union and European Union and other invited guests.
Kubayi told the audience that as they gather, global solidarity is “far removed from everyday realities of access to employment, health care, education and to a decent quality of life. We are contending with rising inequalities between and within societies, and between the Global North and Global South. In many parts of the world, rising populism, xenophobia and extreme forms of nationalism threaten to undermine solidarity.
“It is therefore incumbent upon us as parliaments to bring our institutions closer to the people, to restore the bonds of trust and to make all citizens part of the effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. I am pleased that the G20 Parliamentary Speakers Summit has broadening citizen participation as a standing item, as we seek out new, innovative ways to achieve this,” she noted.
The Minister emphasised that for the commitments made at the G20 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to be translated to reality, “implementation must be felt on the ground. As the bridge between citizen and State, the challenge for parliaments the world over is to translate hope into purpose and promise into action. I look forward to our engagement today, and look even further forward to a bold, forward-looking declaration from this year’s Summit. One that is matched by tangible steps that will be taken by all the parliaments represented here today to give practical meaning to solidarity, equality and sustainability,” Kubayi concluded.
