Zimbabwean first lady relinquishes parliamentary post

Auxillia Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe’s first lady, on Tuesday relinquished her post as the chairperson of the Southern African Regional Caucus of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to concentrate on her role as the wife of the president.

She had been chairperson of the organisation since 2015.

The First Lady bade farewell to her counterparts during the Sixth Ordinary Session of the Fourth Parliament of the Pan African Parliament in South Africa on Monday.

She said she was going to concentrate on improving livelihoods of Zimbabweans, the Herald newspaper reported Tuesday.

“Dear colleagues I stand before you with a heavy heart to pronounce my imminent departure from this esteemed legislative body of our motherland, Africa, the PAP,” she was quoted to have said.

PAP was established in March 2004, by Article 17 of The Constitutive Act of the African Union, as one of the nine Organs provided for in the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community signed in Abuja in 1991.

The establishment of the Pan-African Parliament is informed by a vision to provide a common platform for African peoples and their grass-roots organisations to be more involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent.

The seat of the Parliament is in Midrand, South Africa. The Pan-African Parliamentarians represent all the peoples of Africa.

The ultimate aim of the Pan-African Parliament is to evolve into an institution with full legislative powers, whose members are elected by universal adult suffrage.

The objectives of the PAP among others included, facilitate the effective implementation of the policies and objectives of the OAU and AEC and, ultimately, of the African Union, promote the principles of human rights and democracy in Africa and encourage good governance, transparency and accountability in member states.

Since becoming the First Lady, Mnangagwa has been spearheading various initiatives to help the disadvantaged and has since set up a charity organisation to fight cervical cancer.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over from former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017, following a military intervention.