{"id":60511,"date":"2025-08-17T16:34:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T16:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul"},"modified":"2025-08-17T17:15:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T17:15:53","slug":"africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019S Commonwealth Parliamentarians Meet in Banjul"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>The 54th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa Regional Conference has officially opened in Banjul, The Gambia, bringing together parliamentarians, legislators, and governance experts from across the continent.<\/p>\n<p>The week-long event, running from 10 to 16 August 2025, features workshops, plenary sessions, and interactive discussions on parliamentary innovation, climate adaptation, economic growth, and social inclusion.<\/p>\n<p>Held under the theme \u201cStrengthening Democratic Governance and Resilience in Africa: Tackling Conflicts, Economic Shocks, and Climate Risks\u201d, the conference underscores the pivotal role of parliaments in navigating Africa\u2019s complex political, social, and economic landscape. It provides a platform for participants to exchange experiences, share best practices, and explore solutions to pressing challenges confronting African nations.<\/p>\n<p>Delivering the keynote address, President Adama Barrow highlighted both the opportunities and threats facing the continent. While noting Africa\u2019s vast potential for rapid development, he pointed to persistent obstacles such as political instability, poverty, and unequal development.<\/p>\n<p>He stressed the central role of parliaments in safeguarding democracy, holding executives to account, enacting progressive laws, and ensuring the fair and transparent management of public resources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn The Gambia, my government remains firmly committed to upholding parliamentary independence and strengthening oversight institutions. We believe that a strong parliament is absolutely essential for a strong democracy, with entrenched accountability and transparent procedures protected,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p>He further emphasised the importance of building economic resilience through diversification to better withstand external shocks.<\/p>\n<p>Hon. Fabakary Tombong Jatta, Speaker of the National Assembly of The Gambia and President of the CPA Africa Region, welcomed delegates and described Banjul as an ideal host for this year\u2019s conference. He commended The Gambia\u2019s commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, portraying the country as a model of good governance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe CPA Africa Region plays a vital role in strengthening democratic institutions, promoting inclusive societies, and advocating the collective interest of its members on the African continent and globally,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p>He said parliaments must not only safeguard constitutionalism and accountability but also anticipate the long-term needs of their societies, especially those most vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p>He urged the participants to engage in robust and solutions-oriented discussions.<\/p>\n<p>In her official welcome remarks, the Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee and Speaker of the Parliament of Malawi addressed the persistent threats to peace, economic stability, and sustainable development in Africa. She underscored the unique position of parliamentarians to advance legislation and policies that reinforce democratic institutions, enhance peace and security, protect livelihoods, and build resilience to climate and economic shocks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is therefore imperative that this conference serves not only as a platform for dialogue but also as a forum for shaping actionable strategies to transform our parliaments into true agents of resilient and democratic consolidation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s gathering marks a historic milestone as The Gambia hosts the CPA Africa Regional Conference for the first time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Lesotho<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. The 54th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa Regional Conference has officially opened in Banjul, The Gambia, bringing together parliamentarians, legislators, and governance experts from across the continent. The week-long event, running from 10 to 16 August 2025, features workshops, plenary sessions, and interactive discussions on parliamentary innovation, climate adaptation, economic growth, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":60510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-60511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Africa\u2019S Commonwealth Parliamentarians Meet in Banjul - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 54th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa Regional Conference has officially opened in Banjul, The Ga ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Africa\u2019S Commonwealth Parliamentarians Meet in Banjul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 54th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa Regional Conference has officially opened in Banjul, The Ga ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-17T16:34:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-17T17:15:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/08\/sm_1755434583.724515.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"456\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Africa\u2019S Commonwealth Parliamentarians Meet in Banjul\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-17T16:34:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-17T17:15:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul\"},\"wordCount\":489,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/08\/sm_1755434583.724515.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africas-commonwealth-parliamentarians-meet-in-banjul\",\"name\":\"Africa\u2019S Commonwealth Parliamentarians Meet in Banjul - 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