FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF ZAMBIA, HONOURABLE MALUNGO A CHISANGANO, MP LED THE CPA ZAMBIA BRANCH DELEGATION TO THE 51ST REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE CPA AFRICA REGION.

First Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia, Honourable Malungo A Chisangano, MP led the CPA Zambia Branch delegation to the 51st Regional Conference of the CPA Africa Region which was held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel from 8th to 14th November, 2021 in Abuja, Nigeria.

 

The conference was officially opened on Thursday with President Muhammadu Buhari calling on African parliaments to enact laws and policies that would guard against unwanted change of democratically elected governments. Declaring the four-day conference open, President Buhari who was ably represented by Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo, also urged parliamentarians to pay special attention to poverty which had become a growing challenge in Africa. 

 

The conference was held under the theme, “African Parliaments and the Challenges of Covid-19 Pandemic,” was attended by over 500 delegates from national and sub-national Parliaments across Africa.  President Buhari commended the CPA Africa Region for the choice of the conference theme, and stressed that the Covid-19 pandemic had brought havoc among people in Africa, with women and children being worst hit. He decried poor accessibility to electricity and poor climate changes, as well as noted that Africa was in dire need of finance to mitigate climate change to have a climate friendly environment. More significantly, he challenged the legislatures to come up with practical solutions to enhance social, economic and political lives of Africans, President Buhari tasked delegates to the CPA conference to discuss and bring up proactive legislations that would further tackle the pandemic. He called on the international community to assist Nigeria and Africa in general to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccines locally to facilitate enhanced accessibility in addressing the pandemic. 

Secretary General of the CPA, Mr Stephen Twigg, in his remarks, commended Nigeria for hosting the 51stRegional Conference of the CPA Africa Region, the first to be held physically since 2019. He also reiterated that CPA had marshaled out a strategic 2022-2025 plan which, among other issues, includes sustainable development, gender, poverty and capacity building of Parliamentarians.  Mr Twigg who restated the commitment of the CPA to change the legal status of the Association, applauded Nigeria for the crucial role it has played in tackling climate changes and other developmental challenges. 

 

Other speakers at the official opening ceremony included Chairperson, Commonwealth Women Parliaments (Africa Region), Hon Dr Zainab Gimba, MP; Acting Chairperson of the CPA International Executive Committee, Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP (Parliament of the United Kingdom) and; the Chairperson, CPA Africa Region Executive Committee and Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya, Rt. Hon Justin B. N Muturi.

 

The conference had four workshops that looked at, “The role of African Parliaments in combating covid-19: Country experiences,’’ followed by a social affairs topic, “The challenges of implementing Sustainable Development Goals during the pandemic: Threats and challenges.” Others were the Gender Affairs topic, “The gender impact of COVID-19 Pandemic: Counting the cost of the health crisis on Women and Children in Africa,” and an economic affairs topic, “ A parliamentary agenda for promoting investment in the health sector in Africa during and after the. COVID-19 Pandemic”, among others.

Related Pictures