CONTINUING TO ENHANCE HIGH STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE OF PARLIAMENTARIANS 36th CPA Small Branches Conference 2 to 3 November 2017 Small Branches opening ceremony - 2 November 2017
CPA SMALL BRANCHES CHAIRPERSON SAYS ‘CPA SMALL BRANCHES CONFERENCE WILL HELP TO BUILD CAPACITIES FOR THE SMALL PARLIAMENTS AND LEGISLATURES OF THE COMMONWEALTH’ The CPA Small Branches Chairperson, Hon. Angelo Farrugia, MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Malta gave the opening address at the 36th CPA Small Branches Conference. Good morning to you all and welcome to the 36th CPA Small Branches Conference. As you may be aware, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association was the first organisation to give Parliaments of Small Branches adequate recognition and space in an international forum, notably through its annual Small Branches Conference which commenced in 1981 for Commonwealth members with populations of then less than 250,000 persons. The CPA Small Branches Conference is held in the margins of the CPA annual conference to enable small jurisdictions to discuss matters of relevance to them with larger branches, giving Small Branches a voice and rights equivalent to those of larger Branches. A country which inspires confidence through robust democratic institutions and processes is more likely to reach sustainable development. Yet
democratic institutions are costlier to develop and maintain in small countries because of their size and resources. For the first time in its 106year history, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association started to meet the unique developmental needs of its smallest legislatures through a newly devised ‘CPA Small Branches Strategy’. The smallest of the CPA’s legislatures seek to meet the same expectations of service delivery as larger legislatures and in doing so, they recognise the importance of constantly innovating in the face of fiscal and human resource constraints; they recognise the central role of parliament in meeting the challenges of combatting corruption; and the threats in the face of climate change to some of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable. The new strategy, as I will break down in this session, will focus on key thematic areas and development activities with measurable outcomes; this will build parliamentary capacity for
CPA Small Branches and create greater opportunities for the sharing of knowledge, parliamentary strengthening and cooperation across the network. Of the over 180 Branches of the CPA, 43 Branches are classified as ‘Small Branches’ which are defined as jurisdictions having a population below 500,000 people. A strategy consultation meeting was held in Malta a couple of weeks ago with representatives of each CPA Region where there are Small Branches (seven of the nine CPA Regions) to facilitate discussion and develop the plan. We have a pressing need for the small parliaments and legislatures within the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to come together, within their smallness, to address the common difficulties and strengths and the shared experiences of their assemblies to enhance good governance and parliamentary democracy for our citizens. All CPA Small Branches need to learn to appreciate their strengths as a small legislature; being flexible enough to be able to work with other Parliaments, yet being influential within their regions. The new CPA Small Branches Strategic Plan will focus on the key areas of work to
achieve these objectives and will strengthen and promote the CPA Small Branches network for the benefit of its Members. The strategic planning meeting, which took place at the Parliament of Malta, was attended by: Africa Region: Hon. Ahmed Afif, MP and Hon. Churchill Gill, MP (Seychelles); Australia Region: Mrs Joy Burch, MLA, Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly; British Islands and Mediterranean (BIM) Region: Hon. Samantha Sacramento, MP, Minister for Housing and Equality (Gibraltar); Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic (CAA) Region: Hon. Michael Carrington, MP, Speaker of the Barbados House of Assembly; South-East Asia Region: Hon. Hamdan Bahari, MP, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of The State of Perlis, Malaysia; Pacific Region: Hon. Simon Pentanu, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Thus, this marks the opening of the 36th Small Branches Conference. I am hereby launching the new CPA Small Branches Strategic Plan during this 36th CPA Small Branches Conference and ahead of the wider 63rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC).
The Parliamentarian | 2017: Issue Four | 325