Freetown 4 April 2013: – The Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament, Hon Justice Abel Stronge, and his Ghanaian counterpart, have been specially appointed to carry out an appraisal visit of all Commonwealth Parliaments in Africa in the coming months. This emerged from the latest executive committee meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association which ended in the Cayman Islands towards the end of March.

The Cayman Islands meeting, among other things, looked at the evolution of Parliamentary democracy, the role of the presiding officer, and the position of women in Parliament.

In the meantime, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Dr. William F. Shija, is to pay an official visit to the Parliament of Sierra Leone early next week. The twin purposes of the visit are to fulfill a long desire to meet members of the CPA Branch in Sierra Leone and to carry out a post-election seminar for Members of Parliament of Sierra Leone. The resource persons will be drawn from all over the Commonwealth.

The Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament has said that judging from the current emphasis on female Parliamentarians representation, 50-50 Group, UNDP Office, and Oxfam are working with Parliament to enhance gender representation.

Public Relations Department, House of Parliament