NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 4 – The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Member states are accusing the UK of frustrating efforts in enacting the law that will facilitate the change of status of the organization from a UK charitable body.
Members attending the 66th CPA Annual Conference in Accra, Ghana, have termed the as a sinister move to delay the transition.
Speaker of National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula and his Sierra Leone counterpart Abbas Bundu emphasized that member countries cannot wait any longer for the UK to come up with the law that legalizes the change of status of CPA.
“If the UK does not expedite the process of changing the status of CPA, then we have no option but to move the headquarters and Secretariat to Africa,” said Wetang’ula.
“Kenya is ready to host the CPA headquarters. I have talked to our President William Ruto on the matter, and he has welcomed the move”. he added.
On the other hand, Speaker Bundu proposed that Member Countries ‘must act now to help secure its future’.
“If by April next year, the UK would not have heeded our word then we should move the headquarters of the CPS to Africa, “said Bundu.
Apart from Kenya, other countries namely; Ghana, Malaysia, Tanzania, and Uganda were bidding for hosting the CPA headquarters if it were to be moved from the UK to Africa.
The Caucus said that a change in status would allow the charity ‘to more effectively serve its members, removing damaging frictions caused by an inappropriate status, making clear that all members are on an equal footing, to reflect the modern view of the Commonwealth, and representing the CPA’s own principles of equality and diversity.’
Deliberations at the meeting indicated that changing the Status of the body would further enable them to have a firm grip on the Management of CPA activities.
CPA, which was founded as the Empire Parliamentary Association in 1911 and registered as a charity in 1971, is headquartered in the UK and supports parliamentary democracy across the Commonwealth.
The conference has brought together delegates from more than 60 member countries.
It provides an opportunity to meet parliamentary delegations from across the Commonwealth and to participate in plenary sessions and workshops on topics of Pan-Commonwealth interest.
