Kenyatta opens Commonwealth conference

President Uhuru Kenyatta has officially opened the 46^th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa region conference at a city hotel.

The CPA conference brings together more than 400 participants, including speakers, parliamentarians, presiding officers, and other parliamentary officials, from across the 18 member states of the African region in pursuit of the ideals of democracy and good governance.

Member states of the CPA Africa region include Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra-Leone, South-Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The week-long conference, will operate under the theme; Democracy and development in Africa: policy options, in the post-millennium development, framework.

Clerk of the National Assembly and CPA Kenya branch secretary Justin Bundi says the annual conference is of crucial importance to the 18 African, commonwealth countries because it provides a platform to discuss and analyze global issues and developments in the parliamentary context, while seeking solutions that are unique to the region.