Acting Secretary to Parliament makes it to executive committee of world body of Parliamentary Secretaries

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November 29, 2021 3:41 PM

The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments, an organ of the world body of parliaments - the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) - has elected Acting Secretary to the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, Ms Penelope Baby Tyawa, as a member of its 9-member Executive Committee.

Republic of South Africa: The Parliament

The Association has been meeting on the sidelines of the 143rd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Madrid, Spain, where the South African Parliament is represented by a 6-member multiparty delegation led by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

The ASGP was founded in 1939 as a consultative body of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and seeks to facilitate personal contact between holders of the office of Secretary-General in any Parliamentary Assembly, whether such Assembly is a Member of the Union or not.

Its task is to study the law, procedure, practice and working methods of different Parliaments and to propose measures for improving those methods and for securing cooperation between the services of different Parliaments. The Association also assists the Inter-Parliamentary Union, when asked to do so, on subjects within the scope of the Association.

Ms Tyawa, who joined Parliament seven years ago, is a registered professional psychologist and has extensive experience in the public sector, including in the areas of research, regulations and public communications.

In her acceptance speech following her election this afternoon, Ms Tyawa told the ASGP meeting that she was pleased to be part of the Executive of such a crucial body of administrative heads of world parliaments, and committed to work with fellow executive members to help legislative bodies to fulfil their obligations to their nations.

"I am pleased to be on the Exco and first wish to thank President Phillip, and his championing of the ASGP over the years that I have been able to attend and participate. I have taken an opportunity to learn, share and listen to various experiences of the other SGs, and I have over time been enriched with this experience."

Ms Tyawa has been participating in the affairs of the ASGP and its biannual meetings since her appointment as Acting Secretary to Parliament. She has made wide range of presentations to the body, and has participated in the advisory council of the IPU and the United Nations Development Programme on public participation and research.

She has also championed the Southern Africa region’s Innovation Hub programme, which is currently hosted by the Parliament of Zambia, and focuses on technology innovations and digitisation of our parliaments, under the auspices of the Centre for Innovation in Parliament- an organ of the IPU.

Her election to the ASGP Executive Committee is for a period of 5 years. She will serve alongside other executives from member parliaments from countries which include United Kingdom, France and Canada.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

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