Staff of the Ghanaian Parliament paid a courtesy call on the Clerk of the National Assembly of Zambia, Mrs Cecilia Mbewe on Monday, 13th November 2017, at Parliament Buildings.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) has elected Hon Emilia Monjowa Lifaka, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Cameroon and Vice-Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee, as Chairperson of the Executive Committee. Hon Lifaka, who is from the Africa Region of the CPA, was elected at the 63rd CPA General Assembly held on 7th November, 2017, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  She polled 107 votes while her closest rival, Hon Nikki Rattle of the Cook Islands in the Pacific Region, polled 70 votes.

The 63rd Commonwealth ParliamentaryConference (CPC) and General Assembly, whose theme was ‘Continuing to enhance the high standards of performance of Parliamentarians’, was hosted by the CPA Bangladesh Branchin Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 1st to 8th November, 2017.

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, H.E. Sheikh Hasina, MP, Vice-Patron of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association has urged Commonwealth Parliamentarians to uphold democratic principles as she opened the 63rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Prime Minister said: “We, Parliamentarians, being the people’s representatives have the first and foremost obligations to preserve and maintain the faith of the people in democracy and Parliamentary institutions.”

Children International has donated 13,000 books to the National Assembly of Zambia.  The books which will be distributed to all the 156 constituencies were handed over to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Rt. Hon. Justice Dr. Patrick Matibini, SC, MP at a colourful ceremony held at Parliament Buildings in Lusaka on Monday, 6th November, 2017.

The National Assembly management has congratulated National Assembly Football Club for earning its deserved promotion to Zambia's elite football league for the 2018 football season. This was in a statement made by Mr Roy Ngulube, Deputy Clerk (Administration) who is also the club trustee, when he officiated at a strategic planning retreat for the Club at Chita Lodge in Kafue on Saturday, 4th November, 2017.

Second Deputy of the National Assembly of Zambia,  Hon Mwimba Malama, MP has advised the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) to come up with resolutions that will provide significant input in packaging sustainable rural electrification projects under the Rural Electrification program.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Rt. Hon Justice Dr Patrick Matibini, SC, MP says the promotion of cultural pluralism is important to the achievement of nation-building of every country.  Dr. Matibini says cultural pluralism is an effort that should seek to develop and maintain each linguistic and cultural heritage within the nation state as an integral part of nationalism and nation building.

St. Petersburg, 16 October 2017
 
A new report (and Executive Summary) by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has found that parliaments are committed to overseeing their governments but in practice face significant challenges in doing so.
 

A selection of the recent online news coverage about the CPA and other relevant Commonwealth news in the UKOTA Magazine - publication of the UK Overseas Territories (September 2017 issue).