The commonwealth countries have been urged to strengthen parliamentary democracy.

They should as well promote good governance and human rights across their diverse countries.

The call was made here by the Clerk of the National Assembly of Tanzania, Ms. Nenelwa Mwihambi, ndc who is also the regional secretary of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa Region.

She was opening a workshop for the secretariat staff of the association whose regional office for Africa is hosted at the Tanzania National Assembly in Dodoma.

Ms. Mwihambi said one of the objectives of the CPA Africa region is to promote transparency and accountability in the operation of the region’s organs and bodies.

“To realise this objective required concerted efforts of each and everyone in the region,”she said, as she opened the worship at the East African Community (EAC) headquarters.

She emphasised that each member of the CPA secretariat should carry his or her obligations in promoting transparency and accountability “with dedication and professionalism.”

She challenged the secretariat staff drawn from the Commonwealth member states in Africa to ensure smooth functioning of parliamentary activities.

“Your dedication and expertise enable parliamentarians to fulfill their roles effectively.”Ms. Mwihambi pointed out.

CPA, which was founded in 1911, is an organization which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights.

The association, headquartered in London, currently has about 180 branches and is divided into nine regions, Africa being one of them.

The CPA Africa consists of five regional bodies and four regional organs as per Article 14 of the organization’s constitution.

The capacity building workshop in Arusha was organized to impart the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding of CPA key roles.

Speaking at the gathering, CPA Deputy Secretary General, Jarvis Matiya, said the skills being imparted to members of the secretariat were key “to facilitate effective parliamentary processes”.

A consultant Demetrius Mgalami lauded Tanzania for hosting the regional CPA secretariat in Africa at its National Assembly in Dodoma.

Tanzania was picked as a host from Zimbabwe after the latter was kicked out of the Commonwealth in 2023 following the controversial land reforms by the former regime of President Robert Mugabe.