CPA NEWS COMMONWEALTH SPEAKERS DISCUSS GLOBAL PANDEMIC RECOVERY AT ‘IN-PERSON’ FIFTH WORLD SPEAKERS CONFERENCE IN VIENNA The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s Deputy SecretaryGeneral, Jarvis Matiya, attended the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and hosted by the Parliament of Austria in Vienna from 6 to 8 September 2021. Many Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers attended the conference which was held on the theme of ‘Parliaments for peace, people and planet’ and was the first time that many Speakers and Parliamentarians have been able to gather ‘in person’ since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CPA Deputy Secretary-General met with the IPU’s SecretaryGeneral, Martin Chungong, who opened the conference by praising the resilience of Parliaments during the pandemic. The CPA Deputy SecretaryGeneral also met with many Commonwealth Speakers including the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and CPA India Regional Chairperson, Hon. Om Birla, MP; and the Speaker of the Nigeria House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila MP in the margins of the conference. The CPA Deputy Secretary-General discussed potential areas of collaboration with a number of inter-parliamentary organisations at the conference including with Ambassador Luca Fratini, Director of the Secretary-General's Office at the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe). Commonwealth Women Speakers and Parliamentarians also participated in the 13th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament to discuss gender responsive leadership, actions and the COVID-19 pandemic recovery. The discussion took place in Vienna on the day before the Fifth World Speakers Conference. Former CPA Chairperson and Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury spoke about measures to prevent violence against women and girls at the Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament.
COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARIANS RELAUNCH CPA SOUTH AFRICA BRANCH Members of the Parliament of South Africa have held a virtual relaunch of the South Africa Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Chapter of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP). The Parliament of South Africa is a bicameral Legislature and consists of two Houses: the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The virtual launch was convened by Hon. Solomon L. Tsenoli MP, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, who is also a representative of the CPA Africa Region on the International CPA Executive Committee. Members of Parliament from the CPA South Africa Branch first heard from Hon. Amos N. Masondo, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces and Joint CPA South Africa Branch President, about the strategic significance of the launch. He said: “Our overall purpose is to build an informed parliamentary community that is able to contribute to deepening the Commonwealth’s democratic commitments and to further cooperation amongst its Parliaments and Legislatures.” Guest speakers at the virtual launch event included: • Hon. Dr Grace Naledi M. Pandor MP, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, who spoke about the role of South Africa in multilateralism, with a specific emphasis on the engagement of both the Legislature and the Executive with different Commonwealth structures including the CPA. • The Chairperson of the CPA Africa Region, Rt Hon. Justin B. Muturi EGH MP, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Parliament of Kenya, joined the event by video link and highlighted the progress made in transforming the CPA both internationally and across the wider Region.
• Hon. Angela Thoko Didiza MP, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reform and former Chairperson of the CWP Africa Region, gave her reflections on the role of South Africa in the wider CWP. • Hon. Adv Lindiwe Maseko gave a historical perspective of the CPA and CWP and recalled her experiences as a former Chairperson of the CPA Africa Region and the first International Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians. At the meeting, Adv M. E. Phindela, Secretary to the National Council of Provinces of South Africa, was endorsed as the CPA South Africa Branch Secretary. South Africa was one of the six original founding Members of the now Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in 1911. The CPA South Africa Branch was first established in 1912 and later re-joined the CPA in January 1995 following a period of absence.
For the latest CPA and Commonwealth news please visit www.cpahq.org or follow the CPA on social media Twitter @CPA_Secretariat | Facebook.com/CPAHQ | LinkedIn | Instagram @cpa_secretariat 338 | The Parliamentarian | 2021: Issue Four | 100 years of publishing
