BRAZZAVILLE, 4th December, 2018 – The Speaker of the Senate, Rt Hon Sen Kenneth Lusaka has supported a proposal to set up an ad-hoc Finance Committee to review member contributions of the Forum of Parliaments of Member States of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (FP-ICGLR).

Addressing the 9th Conference of Speakers of the FP-ICGLR, which brings together 12-member Speakers of the inter-parliamentary body, Speaker Lusaka noted that the Kenyan Parliament contributed the highest annual subscription to the Forum.

“Our contribution in some cases is over ten times, what other countries are required to contribute. This undermines the foundation of the Forum as one in which all member countries are supposed to be equal,” said Sen Lusaka.

“Our view is that the current framework needs to be rationalized, so that all Member countries equitably share the financial burden of running the Forum.”

The Plenary Assembly of the FP-ICGLR officially opens on Wednesday. The Senate delegation to the delegation include- Sen Samuel Poghisio (Executive Committee Member) and Sen Sylvia Kasanga (Rapporteur of the Committee on Women, Children and Vulnerable Persons).

FP-ICGLR provides a platform for exchange of experiences, conflict resolution and dialogue between the Parliaments of the member countries of the ICGLR.