Rawlings, 7 former presidents grace PAP

South Africa --The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) was graced this morning by the presence of eight former African heads of state at Gallagher Estates, in Midrand.

The presidents, namely Nicephore Soglo (Benin), Ketumile Masire (Botswana), Aristides Pereira (Cape Verde), Jerry Rawlings (Ghana), Danial Arap Moi (Kenya), Karl Ossman (Mauritius), Ali Hassan Mwinyi (Tanzania), and Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia), made a brief appearance at PAP.

Masire addressed the PAP on behalf of his colleagues, saying he was very impressed with the formation of this parliament. He urged PAP that "it is time to speak with one voice in Africa".

The former presidents are in the country for the gathering of the African Presidential Roundtable 2005 in Johannesburg from today until April 12.