PRETORIA, Nov 6 (AFP) - Preparations for forming a Pan African Parliament
(PAP) should be completed by the end of next year, Organisation of African
Unity (OAU) assistant secretary general Said Djinnit said here Monday.
   Djinnit said however that African states must first ratify the treaty
that
seeks to establish a planned African Union, of which the PAP would be an
organ.
   "If the ratification processes are properly managed ... it is possible
that
by the end of next year we can confidently say that at least a basis has
been
laid," he said.
   Djinnit described an African parliament as part of the African
continent's
long march towards unity which began with the formation of the OAU in 1963.
   "It's time for Africa to take the next step," he said.
   Djinnit was speaking at a press briefing ahead of a four-day assembly of
African parliamentarians in Pretoria to discuss the establishment of the
PAP.
   The African Union, a watered-down version of a "United States of Africa"
proposed by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi last year, is meant to be launched
in
March 2001 but has had a lukewarm response from African states, with only
Mali, Senegal, Togo and Libya having ratified the treaty so far.
   Djinnit said Monday that no one could say how long it would take Africa's
other 49 states to ratify the treaty. At least two-thirds must ratify before
the body can be created.
   Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi last week criticised the idea of a
union,
saying it would be a pointless exercise while Africans kept killing each
other
in the numerous wars raging on the continent.
   But South Africa has supported the idea, with the foreign ministry saying
Monday that the PAP's objectives such as good governance and democracy were
in
keeping with the African Renaissance, President Thabo Mbeki's much-vaunted
ideal of a reversal of fortunes for Africa.
   "Some people are saying this is ambitious. But why shouldn't Africa be
ambitious?" asked deputy foreign affairs director general Welile Nhlapo.
   "Once you take those bold steps, then you begin to look at the
challenges."
   Some 200 African parliamentarians will deliberate a protocol for the
establishment of the PAP at the assembly which starts in Pretoria on Tuesday
and ends Friday.
   The gathering will be attended by OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim
and will be chaired by the speaker of the South African parliament, Frene
Ginwala.
   bur/ef/gd

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