Renew Your Commitment, President Charges Pan African Lawyers’ Union

Pan African Lawyers’ Union (PALU) 2017 Annual Conference
and Triennial General Assembly held at, Southern Sun Ehlangeni and
Maharani Hotel, Durban, Republic of South Africa has just come and
gone.

The conference had in attendance representatives and proxies of
various stakeholders’ organization and collaborators from all over
Africa. The president of PALU, Mr. Elijah C. Banda, SC in his
Opening Ceremony Speech thanked all those who had supported the
Union in their own capacity and also those who contributed to the
success of the Annual conference.

The President after giving a brief history of the Union lauded
the likes of Femi Falana SAN who according to him had taken Life
Membership of PALU, and remains a strong supporter to date.

Speaking on the theme of the conference: “Securing Africa’s
future through the eradication of corruption: the role and
responsibilities of Lawyers and Lawyers’ Associations”, the
president charged members to renew their commitment to the Union so
as to further the ideologies and the general policies of the Union
for the benefit of Africa at large. According to him, the legal
profession can be used to add value to the African society. In his
word:

“PALU seeks to use the legal profession as an entry point to
add value to the African society and therefore the Conference and
TGA needs to be viewed as an opportunity for serious introspection
on what contribution PALU and partners are making towards creating
conditions for better quality of livelihoods on the African
continent and for Africans wherever they are. We cannot achieve our
organizational goals and obligations towards Africa unless PALU is
at its optimum on organizational and institutional capacity. The
building of optimum organizational and institutional capacity for a
professional organization like PALU is primarily a responsibility
of members. Other persons, like partners, only play a secondary,
supportive role.  As PALU members we have not done very well
on our obligations towards OUR organization. Many of us have
severely fallen back on the payment of our membership fees and
subscriptions. These payments are obligatory, not discretionary.
Let us use this conference as an opportunity to renew our
commitment to our organizations if we truly believe in the
organization and the rule of law. Beyond membership dues and other
material support, we have a duty to contribute intellectually to
the organization. Let us please offer and commit to serving on the
PALU Members’ Committees with dedication. It is the
cross-fertilization of ideas within the professional environment
provided by PALU that will move the legal profession and the
quality of governance on the African continent to higher
levels.”

Speaking further, the president also emphasized the fact that
achieving good governance is a top priority of the Union, and as
such the task of conducting free, fair and credible elections
should not be left in the hands of politicians alone. Therefore
PALU must step up to play its role in ensuring that that is
achieved. According to him:

“We note that a number of countries, including Kenya,
Rwanda, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are holding elections shortly. We
must not assume that these elections are about politicians and have
nothing to do with what we exist for. Thanks to international and
African Union law, National elections are no longer just an
internal affair to countries on which they can proclaim sovereignty
to do whatever they like. As a professional association of lawyers,
achieving better political governance on the African continent is
one of our strategic goals. We have a duty, as professionals who
believe in the rule of law to actively get involved in these
elections as promoters of best practices and advocates of popular
participation of the people. We must defend the peoples’ right to
free, fair, just, credible and verifiable elections. This is what
will guarantee peace and confidence in our governance systems in
Africa. We particularly have a duty, moral and legal obligation to
call all our political leaders, political parties and institutions
of state to order; to remind them of their duty to respect, uphold
and promote the agreements and instruments of the African Union
that they have freely negotiated and agreed to be bound by. An
important example that we must give emphasis to is the AU Charter
on Democracy, Elections and Governance. PALU must play an active
role in ensuring that all actors in the forthcoming national
elections in Kenya and the other countries commit to and held
accountable on the basis of this AU Charter. We must demand that
members of our National and Regional Bar Associations, who tend to
have key roles in the management of national elections, play by the
rules. WE must call them to order, and let them know that we are
putting them under the spotlight and watching them closely, as they
are acting in our name as African citizens and as lawyers. These
include the Chairpersons of Electoral Commissions, AGs, Chief
Justices and Judges who are relied upon to determine election
disputes. We must not sit by and just watch as some of them create
and enforce standards other than those prescribed in international
and AU law, national Constitutions and election laws, as well as
guided by professional codes of conduct.”

He restated the fact that PALU oncoming elections should be used
as a medium to achieve an examplenary role. He therefore invited
well meaning Lawyers and stakeholders in Africa to join the union
so that together, the association can achieve its much desired
goal. PALU currently has over 40 Life Members and over 1,000
ordinary members, he said.

Pan African Lawyers’ Union (PALU) 2017 Annual Conference
and Triennial General Assembly held at, Southern Sun Ehlangeni and
Maharani Hotel, Durban, Republic of South Africa has just come and
gone.

The conference had in attendance representatives and proxies of
various stakeholders’ organization and collaborators from all over
Africa. The president of PALU, Mr. Elijah C. Banda, SC in his
Opening Ceremony Speech thanked all those who had supported the
Union in their own capacity and also those who contributed to the
success of the Annual conference.

The President after giving a brief history of the Union lauded
the likes of Femi Falana SAN who according to him had taken Life
Membership of PALU, and remains a strong supporter to date.

Speaking on the theme of the conference: “Securing Africa’s
future through the eradication of corruption: the role and
responsibilities of Lawyers and Lawyers’ Associations”, the
president charged members to renew their commitment to the Union so
as to further the ideologies and the general policies of the Union
for the benefit of Africa at large. According to him, the legal
profession can be used to add value to the African society. In his
word:

“PALU seeks to use the legal profession as an entry point to
add value to the African society and therefore the Conference and
TGA needs to be viewed as an opportunity for serious introspection
on what contribution PALU and partners are making towards creating
conditions for better quality of livelihoods on the African
continent and for Africans wherever they are. We cannot achieve our
organizational goals and obligations towards Africa unless PALU is
at its optimum on organizational and institutional capacity. The
building of optimum organizational and institutional capacity for a
professional organization like PALU is primarily a responsibility
of members. Other persons, like partners, only play a secondary,
supportive role.  As PALU members we have not done very well
on our obligations towards OUR organization. Many of us have
severely fallen back on the payment of our membership fees and
subscriptions. These payments are obligatory, not discretionary.
Let us use this conference as an opportunity to renew our
commitment to our organizations if we truly believe in the
organization and the rule of law. Beyond membership dues and other
material support, we have a duty to contribute intellectually to
the organization. Let us please offer and commit to serving on the
PALU Members’ Committees with dedication. It is the
cross-fertilization of ideas within the professional environment
provided by PALU that will move the legal profession and the
quality of governance on the African continent to higher
levels.”

Speaking further, the president also emphasized the fact that
achieving good governance is a top priority of the Union, and as
such the task of conducting free, fair and credible elections
should not be left in the hands of politicians alone. Therefore
PALU must step up to play its role in ensuring that that is
achieved. According to him:

“We note that a number of countries, including Kenya,
Rwanda, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are holding elections shortly. We
must not assume that these elections are about politicians and have
nothing to do with what we exist for. Thanks to international and
African Union law, National elections are no longer just an
internal affair to countries on which they can proclaim sovereignty
to do whatever they like. As a professional association of lawyers,
achieving better political governance on the African continent is
one of our strategic goals. We have a duty, as professionals who
believe in the rule of law to actively get involved in these
elections as promoters of best practices and advocates of popular
participation of the people. We must defend the peoples’ right to
free, fair, just, credible and verifiable elections. This is what
will guarantee peace and confidence in our governance systems in
Africa. We particularly have a duty, moral and legal obligation to
call all our political leaders, political parties and institutions
of state to order; to remind them of their duty to respect, uphold
and promote the agreements and instruments of the African Union
that they have freely negotiated and agreed to be bound by. An
important example that we must give emphasis to is the AU Charter
on Democracy, Elections and Governance. PALU must play an active
role in ensuring that all actors in the forthcoming national
elections in Kenya and the other countries commit to and held
accountable on the basis of this AU Charter. We must demand that
members of our National and Regional Bar Associations, who tend to
have key roles in the management of national elections, play by the
rules. WE must call them to order, and let them know that we are
putting them under the spotlight and watching them closely, as they
are acting in our name as African citizens and as lawyers. These
include the Chairpersons of Electoral Commissions, AGs, Chief
Justices and Judges who are relied upon to determine election
disputes. We must not sit by and just watch as some of them create
and enforce standards other than those prescribed in international
and AU law, national Constitutions and election laws, as well as
guided by professional codes of conduct.”

He restated the fact that PALU oncoming elections should be used
as a medium to achieve an examplenary role. He therefore invited
well meaning Lawyers and stakeholders in Africa to join the union
so that together, the association can achieve its much desired
goal. PALU currently has over 40 Life Members and over 1,000
ordinary members, he said.