Foreign Minister, Hon. Moses Wetang'ula(third left) with Dr. William Shija (second left), the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

The delegation led by Dr. William Shija, the Secretary General of the CPA, paid a courtesy call on Foreign Affairs minister, Hon. Moses Wetang’ula and briefed him on the recent activities of the association.

Dr.Shija said that the CPA was determined to improve its service delivery to the members states. He however, admitted that there was need to seek consensus of the wider membership on divisive issues to achieve the goals of the association.

 On the upcoming session of the CPA, the Secretary General said that the CPA shared the aspirations of most of the members of the Commonwealth, to actively involve the youth in the activities of the organization. He added that the youth, especially in Africa, should be encouraged to participate in governance, politics and leadership roles. He expressed hope that CPA members would choose a theme that embraces the youth for this year’s conference.

On his part, the Minister, himself a long time crusader of the CPA, assured the delegation that the country would give everything host a successful meeting. Hon.Wetang’ula recalled, albeit nostalgically, his early days when he fell in love with the CPA after presenting a paper at one of its sessions in the early 1990’s. He was later part of a team that carried induction seminars and workshops for new members and worked tirelessly to democratize the association.  The Minister was until recently, a member of the CPA’s Executive Committee.

Noting that the strength of the CPA lay in its diversity, he expressed optimism that any differences within the members would be translated to building blocks for a more united membership.

He also called for the CPA Secretary General to be allocated a speaking slot at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM) to project the work of the association.

Kenya joined the Commonwealth in 1963 and the Kenya National Assembly has been an active participant of in the activities of the CPA. The association, which consists on national parliaments and legislatures of Commonwealth countries, works to promote knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy, respect for the rule of law and individual rights and freedoms.