COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE IN RWANDA CONCLUDES ON HIGH NOTE
For a soundbite from the Chairperson of the NCOP, Mr Amos Masondo click here: https://iono.fm/e/1131053
Parliament, Friday, 26 November 2021: The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and the leader of the South African delegation to the Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers’ Conference (CSPOC), Mr Amos Masondo, has expressed his confidence on African parliaments that they will raise the bar in serving the citizens of their nations.
Mr Masondo said this at the end of the week-long conference which was held in Kigali-Rwanda and which was hosted by the Rwandan Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).
The conference adopted a series of resolutions that covered, among other things, improved public health and handling of pandemics including Covid-19; improved trade and economic integration; continuous capacitation of Members of Parliament and staff; and affirmation of the role of minority and opposition parties in strengthening Parliaments’ oversight role over the government.
The conference urged Parliaments on the continent to accelerate the:
- Ratification of the treaty for the establishment of an African Medicines Agency to help regulate products; help invest more in research and development to build own vaccine production while fighting to address vaccine nationalism that disadvantages the African continent;
- Strengthening of impartiality, inclusivity and consultativeness of the Speakers and Presiding Officers in executing their roles and responsibilities;
- Adoption of better public participation frameworks including ushering in of citizens’ performance scorecard as part of institutional monitoring, evaluation and reporting mechanisms on the work of Parliaments;
- Optimisation of Information and Communication Technologies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Parliamentary administrations covering, among others, the embracing of eProcurement, eTaxation and many other opportunities created by the exponential growth of digital technology.
The delegation of the CPA South African Branch, led by Mr Masondo included Speakers of four provincial legislatures that constitute the sub-branches of the CPA South Africa. They are: Gauteng Speaker, Ms Ntombi Mekgwe; Western Cape Speaker, Mr Masizole Mnqasela; Northern Cape Speaker, Ms Newrene Klaatse; and Limpopo Speaker, Ms Rosemary Molapo.
In line with the rotational formula of electing CPA – CSPOC Standing Committee members, NCOP Chairperson Mr Masondo, will service his term up to the next biennial conference.
Some Speakers were accompanied by their Deputy Speakers as well as some legislative sector officials.
It was announced that the 2023 biennial CSPOC will be hosted by the Cameroon Branch of the CPA, while Botswana would host the following CSPOC conference which will take place in 2025, after which the current alphabetic order for rotational hosting of these conferences would be changed to ensure fairness to the new members of the CPA – Africa Region.
ISSUED BY PARLIAMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA