Update from ongoing CPA Conference:  Clerk to Ghana’s Parliament elected Chairman of SoCATT

The Clerk to Ghana’s Parlia­ment, Cyril Kwabena Oteng Nsiah, has been elected the Chairman for the Society of Clerks -At -The- Table (So­CATT) in Parliaments across the Commonwealth.

Mr Nsiah’s election was by acclamation on Wednesday at the meeting of the Clerks at the ongoing 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Conference in Accra.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Nsiah expressed his gratitude to his colleagues for entrusting him with the position and prom­ised to work hard to maintain the high repute of the SoCATT.

Meanwhile, women parliamentarians from across the Commonwealth have met to dis­cuss women representation in their respective parliaments, gender sensitisation and quotas.

Being the first Conference since the CPA introduced new measures aimed at increasing the female to male MPs ratio to 40:60, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) meeting was used to update members on the caucus’ activities of the previous year and plans for the year ahead.

Chairperson of the CWP, Dr Zainab Gimba, Member of the House of Represen­tatives at the National Assembly of Nigeria, pledged to renew efforts to increase women’s representation and political participation in Parliaments across the Commonwealth pursu­ant to the new measures.

Delegates debated the time and format of future of the caucus’ business meetings and conferences as well as methods for reporting CWP activities through the Regional Sec­retariats, with a motion passed by delegates containing further recommendations for the CWP Steering Committee.

The delegates also attended a CWP and UN Women co-hosted event that highlighted the support available to achieve gender-re­sponsive legislation and advance state com­mitments around global goals pertaining to gender equality.

Women, the CWP chairperson noted, suf­fered violence and discrimination, and were under-represented in political and economic decision-making processes hence the need to scale up the numbers in parliaments to amplify the voice of women.

Still at the Conference, Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Edu­cation Trust (CET), Betty Abeng, said that around 260 million children across the globe are not enrolled in school.

This she said undermined efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 which seeks to revitalise glob­al partnership for sustainable development.

Speaking at the inaugural CPA Emilia Monjowa Lifaka Lecture in Accra, Madam Abeng underscored the importance of educa­tion for all Commonwealth citizens.

Education for all, Madam Betty Abeng said was a key objective of achieving UN SDG4 in ensuring “inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

Betty Abeng used the lecture to highlight the key role of Commonwealth Parliamen­tarians in global education and urged them to pass legislations to ensure many more children acquired formal education.

The CPA Lifaka Lecture has been estab­lished in memory of Emilia Monjowa Lifaka, the late chairperson of the CPA International Executive Committee and Deputy Speaker of Cameroon.

The late Monjowa Lifaka was a passionate champion of the CPA and served as CPA Chairperson from November 2017 until her death in April 2021.

 BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI

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