Parliament has started conducting a three-week long Parliamentary Training Programme (PTP) for 2020-2025 Members of Parliament.
The training aims at sharpening Members’ knowledge with a view of enhancing Members’ contributions in the House.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training, Speaker of the Malawi National Assembly, Right Honourable Catherine Gotani Hara, MP, described the PTP as a very significant training for Members of Parliament.
In her remarks, the Right Honourable Speaker called on the Members to give their best during the three weeks and make a difference in their oversight and legislative roles.
“It is therefore imperative, that we give our best, deliberate to our highest degree and come up with solutions that are in the best interest of spearheading development and ending poverty in Malawi. We can only do this if we continuously grow our skills and our knowledge. This is best done through trainings such as these, ” said the Right Honourable Speaker.
On her part, the Clerk of Parliament, Mrs. Fiona Kalemba said Parliament has looked into all the different aspects that Members of Parliament deal with at all levels.
“These extend not only to the work at the national level such as in the Chamber by deliberating on the budget and various bills, but also the work done at the local level in District Councils and also how Members relate with their constituents at grass root level, ” she said.
She added that the curriculum is therefore tailored to include courses that dissect all three levels. She said Parliament has done its best to find leading experts in these fields, so that the courses can be delivered at the highest level befitting Members of Parliament.
Among others, the training will cover various courses including The State and Governance Architecture, Parliamentary Procedures and Practice, Code of Ethics and Conduct for Members of Parliament, Research and Communication skills in Parliament, Communication Skills for Parliamentarians and National Economy and Policy Analysis with a Focus on Finance, National Budget and the Role of the National Planning Commission.
The training has targeted all Members of Parliament except Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Presiding Officers (The Speaker and two Deputy Speakers) and has been divided into 4 cohorts with 40 Members participating in each cohort.
Since 1994, Parliament of Malawi has conducted the TPT for all cohorts. Previously, the training was being facilitated by the University of Malawi, Chancellor College in Zomba.
Source: Parliament Facebook Page
