PLENARY SESSION - COMMONWEALTH MATTERS
democracies such as South Africa by providing for capacity building of parliamentarians and parliamentary staff. Last year in Sri Lanka, I again informed you how our Third Strategic Plan for 2013-2017 had been sourced from you and processed to your agreement through the Executive Committee and General Assembly.
This year, I am happy to report that the Executive Committee has now approved the first ever CPA Business Plan for 2013-2015 to support the objective implementation of the Strategic Plan. The Business Plan will enable the Secretariat to work with our members and partners with clear key performance indicators. This new governance approach will, of course, also require increased tolerance, respect and understanding in our family, to apportion our resources accordingly.
For example, in March this year, the CPA held a highly successful joint Human Rights Seminar with the Commonwealth Secretariat
“To achieve equitable distribution of wealth at national and Commonwealth levels, again, requires tolerance, respect and
understanding. “
for the Caribbean, the Atlantic and the Americas Region in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. In April, we conducted a successful Post Election Seminar for Sierra Leone. In the same month, we held a joint Workshop with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization and UNCTAD on Cyber Security, and participated at the 3rd Annual
Cyber Security Forum, both events in Yaounde, Cameroon, our Conference host for next year. In May, we held a joint Study Group with UNDP Parliamentary Monitoring Groups to examine the future of our work on the Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures. Also, although in May we missed out on a postponed CWP Workshop in Botswana for Southern Africa, we managed to facilitate the CWP Chairperson’s participation at the Parliamentary Workshop at the Tenth Women’s Affairs Ministers’ Meeting (10WAMM) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Also, the CPA being a permanent member of the WTO Steering Committee, we participated at the 28th Session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO in Geneva. These activities, together with the planned Post Election Seminar for Lesotho to be held soon after this conference, are being planned and implemented in accordance with the Business Plan, which has a financial schedule to support the implementation. In the latter part of this year, just to name a few, we have planned to hold a joint workshop with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Institute on “The Role of Parliaments and Extractive Industries” in Vienna, Austria; hold a Parliamentary Staff Development Workshop for the Africa Region; hold another Workshop on Human Rights in Africa with the Commonwealth Secretariat; hold a Parliamentary Staff Development Workshop for the Pacific; and hold the annual CPA Youth Parliament in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. I have often said that as a member-based organization, the CPA will always rely on the needs and wishes of its members in almost 50 per cent of its programmes planning. As I said last year, the Association currently enjoys a very good financial health, with total current reserves standing at £9.1 million, certainly higher than £8.2 million at this time last year. Naturally, the Executive Committee has decided to draw down on the accumulated reserves in accordance with the Free Reserves
Policy of the Association to fund more of our activities.
My statement regarding the resources we have further reminds me of one of the key structural concepts of our activities; and that is, the hosting of our events and activities. I have often said at every opportunity of meeting you that our CPA programmes and events need to be hosted by one of our branches. For example, we are here in South Africa at the invitation of the Parliament and Government of South Africa to hold the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in 2013. We were in Sri Lanka last year; in the United Kingdom in 2011; in Kenya in 2010; in Tanzania in 2009; in Malaysia in 2008; in India in 2007; in Nigeria in 2006; on the same basis. I am of course delighted that we have been invited by the Parliament and Government of Cameroon next year in 2014, I am, however, not happy that we are yet to hear from a Branch willing to host us for the Conference in 2015, 2016 and beyond. I am therefore kindly asking you to consider my request as soon as possible to enable us to begin working on the future arrangements, particularly for the immediate year of 2015.
I wish to end my remarks by expressing a special tribute to you, Hon Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu, MP, Chairman of the National Council of Provinces, for your wonderful leadership of the Association as Vice President and President. Apart from your natural cheerfulness, you are a person who has greatly assisted us through tolerance, respect and understanding, particularly during some difficult times. I also wish to thank the
Chairperson, Sir Alan Haselhurst, Vice Chairperson, Dr Nafisa Shah, the Treasurer of the Association, Hon Marwick Khumalo and the CWP Chairperson, Hon Alix Boyd- Knights, who, through the work of the Co-ordinating Committee, have greatly guided and assisted me and the Secretariat to meet the many challenges of our work across the Commonwealth.
Accordingly, I sincerely wish to thank all the Members of the Executive Committee for their full engagement with us, and assistance regarding all the policy issues and decisions that had to be made. I believe that all of you did your work through tolerance, respect and understanding. My special tribute now is to the outgoing Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, Hon. Alix Boyd Knights, who is also the Speaker of Dominica. We at the Secretariat will remember you to be an objective pusher, inquirer, deep believer of the women development agenda, perfectionist, and holder of a wonderful sense of humour. It is highly expected that the work programme and increased CWP funding you are handing over to your successor will greatly enhance the work of the CWP in all our regions of the Commonwealth. Your tolerance, respect and understanding were truly appreciated. We expect that you will remain one of our resource persons until you decide to close your communications. Similarly, I wish to pledge our full support to the new CWP Chairperson to enable her to further develop and strengthen women leadership and welfare in the Commonwealth and beyond. I wish to wholeheartedly thank all the staff members of the CPA Secretariat for their support and understanding. Their skills, experience, long hours of work, sometimes awkward travel schedules, and keeping the communication lines open to make the CPA tick in our branches, countries and partners. Believing that this 59th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference here in Johannesburg, South Africa, will be successful; having been joined by the Commonwealth Secretary General, His Excellency Mr Kamalesh Sharma; and with our Commonwealth Youth Parliament representatives attending for the second time; I wish you all an enjoyable, friendly and productive conference.
I thank you all for your kind attention. The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue Four | 249
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