Items filtered by date: Thursday, 19 March 2026

Gaborone, Botswana - Parliamentary clerks and financial oversight experts from across Africa convened in Botswana for the 9th Professional Development Seminar of the Society of Clerks-at-the-Table (SoCATT) Africa Region, where participants explored ways to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny of public finances and reinforce accountability in governance.

Held from 9 to 13 March 2026, the five-day seminar brought together parliamentary administrators, budget analysts and public finance specialists under the theme, “Parliaments and Public Finance Management: Fostering Transparency and Accountability.”

The event was organised under the framework of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa Region and its professional body, SoCATT Africa, and hosted by the National Assembly of Botswana.

Throughout the seminar, delegates examined the evolving role of parliaments in overseeing national budgets, ensuring fiscal discipline and strengthening institutional frameworks that safeguard the prudent management of public resources.

Zambia on Monday took a step toward strengthening parliamentary professionalism and democratic governance with the official launch of the Institute for Parliamentary Studies and Training (iPST).

National leaders and regional partners were swift in welcoming the initiative as a transformative development for legislative capacity building.