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The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Mr Amos Masondo has welcomed the resolution of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s (CPA’s) General Assembly of changing the status of the CPA from a charitable organisation to a non-charitable organisation.
 
Mr Masondo together with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula led a high-level delegation of the members of Parliament, speakers of the provincial legislatures and members of the provincial legislatures to the 66th CPA conference, which was held in Accra, in Ghana this past week.
 
The change of status of the CPA will assist the organisation in moving to an inter-parliamentary level and stops benefiting only a few charities that are based in the United Kingdom (UK), it will now have a global impact. This resolution gives the CPA an opportunity to benchmark against international parliamentary organisations such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union in order to achieve the desired impact on the Commonwealth member countries.
 
Furthermore, the resolution means a possible relocation of the CPA Secretariat from UK to one of the countries that has offered to host the secretariat. The CPA General Assembly instructed the Secretary General of the CPA, Mr Stephen Twigg, to write a letter to all member countries and inform them of the basic criteria required if they wish to host the CPA Secretariat. The General Assembly agrees that the issue of the legal status of the CPA should be resolved within a period of 6 months with June 2024 being the latest deadline timeframe.
 
The South African delegation wishes to congratulate Rwanda for assuming the Commonwealth Women Parliamentary (CWP) chairpersonship and Botswana for being elected as the vice-chairperson of the CWP. It is encouraging for the Africa region to assume leadership positions particularly on issues that advance the debate on issues affecting women. Leadership on these positions comes with certain responsibilities and obligations and South Africa has confidence that the region has enough capacity to lead the CWP efficiently.
 
The delegation also congratulates the Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Ms Ntombi Mekgwe, on receiving international recognition for the sterling work that she does in the Gauteng Province. Ms Mekgwe received an award as the best parliamentarian in the Commonwealth for the work she does with civil society organisations including women, youth and the LGBTQIA+ community sectors.
 
This international recognition is a testament to the good work that the South African public representatives are doing in their respective constituencies. Furthermore, this recognition inspires public representatives to ensure their work has an impact within those various communities. Doing impactful work that is in line with the Constitution of the country and its laws is what all public representatives should aspire to.

Issued by The Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of The Leader of the Delegation, Amos Masondo