60th CPA Conference: Cameroon set for hosting

Finishing touches are being put to preparations for the event due to be held in Yaounde from October 2-10, 2014.

As the holding in Yaounde of the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference from October 2 to 10, 2014 draws near, organisers are not leaving anything to chance.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, October 24, 2014, at the National Assembly, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Coordinator of the Organising Committee, Hon. Emilia Monjowa Lifaka, said a team of between 17 and 20 medical doctors and over 50 nurses, laboratory technicians and ambulance drivers, has been mobilised to ensure the health of delegates.

The event will hold under the patronage of President Paul Biya, who is also Vice Patron of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, CPA. The press conference was in the presence of the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary and the Vice President of the Senate, Tchatchouang Paul.

The theme of the confab will be: “Repositioning the Commonwealth for the post-2015 development agenda.” Hon. Lifaka restated that Cameroon was still Ebola-free, but the relevant government ministries were working on how to manage delegates from countries affected by the current epidemic.

She disclosed that Liberia, not being a Commonwealth member, will not be sending delegates; while Sierra Leone did not register. Only Nigeria, which has been affected to some extent, will be sending participants.

The Deputy Speaker dispelled rumours of some Western nations being reluctant to send delegates to Yaounde for fear of Ebola, saying Samoa, Jamaica and Seychelles had placed a ban on travel to West Africa, not Cameroon in particular.

Talking about the CPC proper, Emilia Monjowa Lifaka said over 800 delegates were expected, with 53 speakers of national parliaments and 64 sub-regional legislatures.

Representation is also expected from parliaments of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, CEMAC.

Since joining the Commonwealth in 1995, Cameroon has received over 500 scholarships while the body assisted in the drafting of the Electoral and Criminal Procedure Codes.

Moreover, the Commonwealth has always monitored elections in Cameroon, Hon. Lifaka pointed out. The conference, she added, will be an opportunity for Cameroon to sell its rich cultural diversity through excursion visits by delegates to Kribi in the South Region and Buea and Limbe in the South West Region.