The 19th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments (CSPOC) of the Commonwealth Africa Region got started in South Africa’s Gauteng province yesterday.
Heads of parliaments and other representatives of national and subnational legislatures from the continent are meeting at the Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, under the theme "Proactive Parliaments and Sustainable Development: An Imperative for Political Stability in Africa”. Over the next three days, delegates will discuss various topics relating to the role of parliamentary leadership in the development of the continent.
The opening day of the conference, which is jointly hosted by the Parliament of South Africa and the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, coincided with South Africa’s commemoration of the 16 June Soweto uprising, one of the most significant events in the country’s calendar and in the fight against apartheid.
Before the official opening session, conference delegates traveled to Soweto for a wreath laying ceremony at the Hector Pieterson Memorial, in honour of the youth of 1976 who were killed by apartheid police when they marched against the government policy of inferior education for black people and the introduction of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in black schools.
Officially opening the conference and welcoming delegates on behalf of the South African Legislative Sector, Ms Refilwe Mtshweni Tsipane, the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces in the Parliament of South Africa, paid tribute to the youth of 1976 and highlighted the significance of the venue, where the negotiations to end apartheid took place before the 1994 elections.
“This venue, the Emperors Palace, gave birth to new South Africa and a profound transition from a repressive apartheid system to a thriving democracy as the location where the historic Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) negotiations took place.
“We also take cognisance that we convene today, on 16 June 2026, as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of one of the most significant events, the June 16 1976 uprisings; where the youth and children of this beautiful land took the ultimate sacrifice to contest a repressive government of apartheid, against its systems, practices and orders that introduced forms of life that would guarantee a perpetual state of servitude,” she said.
Ms Mtshweni-Tsipane also believes that for Africa and the people of South Africa, the day is not a day of celebration, but a moment to mourn and remember all the fallen heroes, whose ultimate sacrifice shaped the freedoms enjoyed by the continent today.
The conference continues today with plenary discussions on various topics, including the role of parliaments in enhancing public trust in governance and reforming and developing innovative mechanisms and strategies for effective and proactive parliamentary leadership in Africa’s development.
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