OPENING CEREMONY
COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE Johannesburg, South Africa
59th Plenary Session - 2 September 2013
OPENING CEREMONY
Hon. Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu, MP, Presi- dent of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, South Africa
We, as the CPA South Africa Branch, are pleased to host this Conference of the Parliaments and Legislatures of the Commonwealth only a few months shy of the 20th anniversary of our hard-won democratic dispensation. South Africa is forever thankful to all those who used various platforms, including the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, to contribute to the struggle against apartheid. As such, I am honoured to welcome you on behalf of the Branch and host country, to the 59th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, which is held under the theme Effective Solutions to Commonwealth Developmental Challenges.
As the theme suggests, the Commonwealth community of nations has not been immune to
developmental challenges. In order to understand these challenges better, it is imperative to critically analyse the nature of the current developmental trends within the Commonwealth community.
Our challenges are numerous and diverse. They include the multiple crises of unemployment, landlessness, homelessness, lack of basic services, HIV and AIDS, food insecurity and unacceptable levels of crime and violence. These challenges persist making it difficult for some nations to realise their full potential and thus improve the lives of their people.
It is within this context that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), as a collective, must build and maintain the momentum to promote socio- economic development. This must go
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hand in hand with sustained efforts to entrench a culture of peaceful resolution of conflicts.
The new society that we aspire to build should ensure that peace, security and stability are a prerequisite for socio-economic development in the Commonwealth community and the entire world. The developing world has in the last few decades witnessed significant progress in its political landscape. The CPA should redouble efforts to address the remaining conflicts plaguing certain parts of the Commonwealth. The CPA should also continue to work with various stakeholders at global, regional and national organisations to promote peace in the world
Furthermore, the Commonwealth should ensure that the process of the democratisation of the institutions of global governance is strengthened
to create conditions conducive for the international political, economic and trade integration process and to ensure economic development. Due attention must be given to gender equality and women emancipation. Commonwealth countries must channel more resources towards improving access to education, health, sanitation and water, and make child-bearing safer for women. Parliaments have an obligation to ensure equal treatment of all citizens and to stand up against any form of discrimination and marginalisation of women. We need to acknowledge that, in a developmental paradigm, achieving gender equality must necessarily extend beyond elevating women into positions of power. Issues of gender equality should be part of our culture and socialisation.
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