Uganda wins bid to host the 2024 Commonwealth Speakers summit
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Thomas Tayebwa (2nd left), and other colleagues attend the ongoing Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth in Canberra, Australia, yesterday. Photo | Courtesy
What you need to know:
- The conference, according to the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, was created in 1969 as an initiative of the then Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, Lucien Lamoureux, to bring together Speakers and Presiding Officers of the national parliaments of the independent sovereign states of the Commonwealth.
Uganda will host the next summit of the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) slated for January 3 to January 6, 2024.
The bid was confirmed yesterday during the on-going CSPOC in Canberra, Australia.
The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anitah Among, will be the chairperson of the Standing Committee.
The conference, according to the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, was created in 1969 as an initiative of the then Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, Lucien Lamoureux, to bring together Speakers and Presiding Officers of the national parliaments of the independent sovereign states of the Commonwealth.
Mr Tayebwa, who led the Uganda delegation, said: “This is another rare opportunity to showcase our beautiful country to the World.”
The CNN, a multinational cable news channel headquartered the US, recently listed Uganda among the best destination for tourists to visit this year. CNN stated that Uganda is looking beyond the traditional staples of safari and wildlife spotting to appeal to both regional and international visitors.
Several Speakers of Parliament have confirmed attending including Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the House of Commons, UK, Milton Dick of the Parliament of Australia, Adrian Rurawhe of New Zealand, and Mahinda Yapa of Sri Lanka etc.
At the continental level, President Kagame last year open the 17th CSPOC– Africa Region summit themed “African Parliaments in the 21st Century” at Kigali Convention Centre.
Background
CSPOC is an independent group and has no formal affiliation with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Commonwealth Secretariat or the Commonwealth Heads of Government.
It operates on a two-year cycle, holding a conference of the full membership every two years, usually early in January, and a meeting of the Standing Committee at the same time, the intervening year.
The conference is geared towards maintaining, fostering, and encouraging impartiality and fairness on the part of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments, promoting knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy in its various forms, and developing parliamentary institutions.
