The Secretary-General Elect of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Mr Stephen Twigg has joined Commonwealth Parliamentarians via video link at the Parliament of Botswana for the 12th Parliamentary Workshop on Effective Oversight this week.
The virtual workshop was opened by the Speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana, Hon. P. T. C. Skelemani, MP and the Clerk of the National Assembly, Ms B. N. Dithapo and was attended by around 50 Members of the Parliament of Botswana. The four-day workshop examined parliamentary oversight and accountability and the tools available to MPs to undertake this role.
The CPA Secretary-General Elect spoke in one of the opening sessions of the virtual workshop about the work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in providing advice and training to Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures and the CPA Recommended Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures which provides a benchmark for parliamentary standards. The CPA Secretary-General Elect also spoke about his own experiences of oversight as a former Parliamentarian and Chairperson of the International Development Select Committee.
The CPA Secretary-General Elect, Mr Stephen Twigg said: “I was delighted to join Parliamentarians from Botswana for my first public engagement as CPA Secretary-General-Elect. The opportunity to learn from each other is of critical importance and I was pleased to highlight some of the excellent resources which the CPA has developed to support Commonwealth Parliamentarians in their crucial oversight work.”
The workshop also heard from Ms Meg Munn, a former Parliamentarian speaking on behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Dr R. Draman, Executive Director, African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs.
The virtual workshop at the Botswana Parliament was the first time that the CPA Secretary-General Elect took part in an overseas event with a CPA Branch ahead of the start of his new role which officially commences from 1 August 2020.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), now in its 109th year, exists to develop, promote and support Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and to implement the enduring values of the Commonwealth. The CPA is an international community of over 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Executive Committee is the principal governing body of the Association and includes Commonwealth Speakers and Members of Parliament.
Visit the CPA Headquarters Secretariat website at www.cpahq.org.
