President Yoweri Museveni has advised Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth to take advantage of population and common language to exploit the advancement of all partner states.
The President was opening the 27th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) at the Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort in Kampala on Thursday, 04 January 2024.
He added that it was the philosophical, ideological and strategic shallowness for the Commonwealth member states to exist at cross-purposes yet they have abundant advantages that could enhance mutual cooperation.
Calling colonialism a waste of time, the President said a lot can still be salvaged instead of the chauvinism of many actors.
“The greed is a miscalculation; this is why empires collapse; all of them, without exception, because they are essentially evil,” he told the over 30 Speakers and Presiding Officers attending the three-day conference.
“A whole century was wasted on account of promoting parasitism instead of symbiosis; stop manipulation and lectures to societies that are different from you; if you think you are right, influence people by your example,” he added.
Museveni said the Commonwealth is among the positive practices veterans of the resistance against colonialism salvaged, which he said should be employed to widen prosperity among member states.
“When the dangerous illusions of empires were defeated, the elders of the countries decided not to throw away everything,” he said, adding that the English language is an example of the good things maintained, which could be helpful in easing trade among nations.
Echoing these sentiments, Speaker Anita Among emphasized the conference’s focal points encompassing youth and gender, health, security, environment, human rights, the rule of law, democratic expansion, and the enhancement of parliamentary debate quality. She expressed gratitude to President Museveni for facilitating the conference, characterizing the event as a pivotal milestone in the nation’s legislative history.
With 33 out of 43 confirmed speakers in attendance, the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth Parliaments, scheduled until January 6th, 2024, represents a collaborative effort toward driving progressive changes and fostering deeper intra-Commonwealth cooperation.
Among the speakers and presiding officers of commonwealth parliament present are the Speaker of the Dominican Republic, Botswana, Ghana, Granada, Guyana, India, Kenya, The Kingdom of Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Singapore, Samoa, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tonga, Uganda and Zambia.
Established in 1969, the CSPOC operates on a bi-annual basis, where Speakers and Presiding Officers of the national parliaments of the independent sovereign states of the Commonwealth converge to understand the various forms of parliamentary diplomacy.
The main theme of the CSPOC is to foster and encourage fairness on the part of speakers and presiding officers of the Commonwealth.
The Rt Hon. Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Anita Among, in her remarks, welcomed the delegates, and said Commonwealth relations should be anchored on mutual respect.
