President William Ruto will tomorrow open the National Assembly Post Election Seminar (PES) for members in conjunction with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in Mombasa.
The President will preside over the four-day seminar, a practice within the Commonwealth fraternity that takes place at the beginning of the term for newly elected legislators.
The forum will be held at the Paradise Pride Inn Beach resort in Shanzu, Mombasa and comes after the week-long House Committees induction that saw members equipped with tools needed to effectively discharge their constitutional mandate of representation, oversight and legislation.
As per practice within the Commonwealth parliaments, the event takes place at the beginning of the term of every Parliament.
The forum comes hot on the heels of a week-long House Committees’ Induction that came to a close on Saturday.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula said the conference is aimed at building the capacity of members of the 13th parliament in all aspects of good parliamentary practice as well as promoting our national values and ideals of parliamentary democracy.
“We have invited our partners, the United States of America’s National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), with a view to benefiting from best practices in the US congress, particularly on matters touching on bicameralism and multiparty democracy,” Wetangula said.
“Most importantly, the sessions will provide members with a window to gain a better understanding of parliamentary systems and processes in established jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom and the United States among others.”
Wetangula said during the four-day conference, members of the national assembly will be afforded an opportunity to hear and interact with speakers from sister parliaments within the East African Community and the larger continent of Africa.
“The Seminar will also provide a platform for members to discuss and engage with players from the other arms of government and experts on the area of democratic governance,” he said.
President Ruto will deliver the keynote address and officially open the seminar on Monday.
Musalia Mudavadi will follow and give a presentation on the role of the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary visa-a-visa linkage between Parliament and the Executive.
In the new Executive Order 2023, the Prime Cabinet Secretary Chairs and co-ordinates National Government legislative agenda across all ministries and state departments in consultation with and for transmission to the Party/Coalition Leaders in Parliament.
In quick succession, Secretary General of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Stephen Twigg, will follow suit and give a presentation on the legislature in the 21st century having served as United Kingdom Parliamentarian.
Former Member of Parliament Australia House of Representatives Kevin Andrews, as well Sylvia Lucas, Deputy Chairperson, National Council of Provinces (NCOP), South Africa will each give a presentation on Opportunities and Challenges for New and Returning Members.
On the second day, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir is lined up to give a presentation on the Role of Select Committees in Parliamentary oversight.
Abdulswamad is a former Mvita legislator and immediate former chairperson of the national assembly’s Public Investment committee.
