SUMMARY OF THE RESOLUTIONS OF THE CAPACITY BUILDING SEMINAR FOR MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT (Sun City, South Africa, 24–27 Nov 2025)

The seminar focused on how African Parliaments can strengthen social protection, promote inclusive economic growth, expand universal health coverage, and support innovation, skills development, and entrepreneurship. Participants reaffirmed the role of Parliaments in legislation, oversight, budget approval, and ensuring policies that advance sustainable development in line with Agenda 2063, the SDGs, and the AfCFTA.

1. Social Protection Systems
Parliaments resolved to:
Enact or strengthen laws that provide comprehensive, universal social protection, especially for vulnerable groups.
Use research, case studies, and best practices to guide policy and budget decisions.
Promote sustainable, domestically financed social protection systems rather than relying on donors.
Align interventions with national poverty levels, labour-market needs, and human capital goals.
Prioritize child grants, early childhood support, and women’s economic empowerment.

2. Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Parliaments committed to:
Simplify and harmonize regulations to make it easier to start and grow businesses.
Strengthen intellectual property laws and improve patent systems.
Enact incentives such as tax breaks, innovation grants, and supportive procurement policies, especially for youth- and women-led enterprises.

3. Universal Health Coverage (UHC)
Key actions include:
Legislating for equitable and sustainable health financing.
Reducing inefficiencies, fraud, and fragmented delivery within health systems.
Building strong national health information systems with real-time data for planning and emergency response.
Incorporating emergency preparedness (disease surveillance, labs, essential medicines).
Extending UHC to underserved rural, informal, and marginalized communities.

4. Comprehensive Social Protection Frameworks
Parliaments will:
Develop or update laws covering cash transfers, social insurance, labour programs, and social assistance.
Ensure long-term funding through domestic resource mobilization and medium-term budgeting.
Include crisis-response tools such as contingency funds and automatic scalability during shocks.
Enhance oversight through annual reporting, citizen participation, and civil society engagement.

5. Inclusive Economic Development
Governments and Parliaments are urged to:
Support SMEs and startups through affordable finance, digital infrastructure, and inclusive procurement.
Invest in innovation ecosystems, community hubs, and indigenous knowledge.
Align vocational training with labour market needs, especially in digital and green skills.
Improve transparency, accountability, and regional cooperation under the AfCFTA.

6. Vocational Training and Skills Development
Parliaments resolved to:
Update TVET laws to adopt competency-based training and stronger industry linkages.
Provide incentives for employer-led training, apprenticeships, and sector skills councils.
Promote equity in TVET through scholarships, quotas, and accessible learning for youth, women, rural communities, and persons with disabilities.
Strengthen National Qualifications Frameworks, accreditation bodies, and recognition of prior learning, with emphasis on ICT and climate-smart skills.
Adoption
The resolutions were formally adopted on 26 November 2025 by the Resolutions Committee chaired by Hon. Johni Steenkamp (South Africa), with members from Eswatini, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa.