Commonwealth parliamentarians call for women empowerment in Africa

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Africa Region, has called on parliamentarians in the region to promote women empowerment for meaningful development of the continent.
Lindiwe Maseko, the Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee, made the call at the 66th Meeting of the Committee in Asaba, Delta State on Tuesday.
Maseko, who is also the Speaker of Gauteng Legislature, South Africa, said the inclusion of women in decision-making positions would accelerate development of the commonwealth member countries.
She noted that empowerment of women was also essential to the growth of democracy on the continent.
Maseko said the meeting discussed issues affecting the association and those that would help to strengthen democracy of member countries.
She commended the Delta State Government and the state House of Assembly for hosting the meeting and promised that the association would do all it could to promote democracy in the Nigeria.
The Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei, noted that the legislature was a vital organ of any democracy.
Ochei said it was a great achievement for the African continent to have attained her present level of democratic ethos, given its very ugly experience of dictatorship in the past.
He said: “The ugly trend has eclipsed with a large chunk of African countries submitting themselves to the dictates of democracy which, if encapsulated, will mean good governance, upholding human rights and the rule of law.
“It is necessary that any opportunity given to deepen the ideals of democracy ought to be embraced and this partly informed our decision to host this meeting.”
Ochei also said that membership of the association was voluntary, adding that it engaged in peer review for exchange of best parliamentary practices among member countries.
The speaker held that the state legislature had been adequately positioned to meet the demands of making people oriented laws, for positive impact on the state.
He added: “This is contingent on our firm belief that as pillar of democracy, the legislative arm must be a catalyst of change, working in concert with the other arms of government.”