From 19 to 21 March 2019, CPA UK in partnership with the Parliament of Malawi conducted a three-day training workshop for parliamentary staff and officials in Malawi. The training was led by two clerks from the Scottish Parliament and UK Parliament and a member of CPA UK staff. The programme focused on training for clerks and officials in the run-up to the parliamentary elections taking place in May 2019. The programme was part of the Commonwealth Partnership for Democracy (CP4D) project funded by the UK Government.

The workshop forms part of a two-year project that aims to build the capacity of the Parliament of Malawi, as the country goes through a period of transition. The first phase of the project is focused on equipping parliamentary clerks and staff with the necessary skills and best practices to enable them to effectively discharge their legislative and committee functions.

During the three-day training, participants took part in a range of interactive sessions and discussions which aimed to strengthen their capacity to prepare effectively for the upcoming elections and increase their confidence to effectively train and support new members. The sessions covered a broad range of themes including confident communication and building trust with new members, preparing briefs and documents on parliamentary procedure, planning and delivering impactful workshops for new members and planning logistics for organising and delivering new members’ induction programmes.

On the final day of workshops, participants created a Clerk and Officials’ vision for the next parliament, identifying the specific opportunities and challenges that the new parliament will offer them. The participants then worked in partnership with the UK clerks to develop an in-depth plan for the new members’ induction programme. A working group is now being established between CPA UK and the Parliament of Malawi to plan and deliver the new members induction programme, which will take place later in 2019 following the upcoming election.

CPA UK looks forward to further strengthening its relationship with the Parliament of Malawi. Following the elections next year, the team will work on the second phase of the programme which will provide support to new members of Parliament through a comprehensive induction programme, with particular emphasis on women and young parliamentarians.

For more information about CPA UK’s work in Malawi, please click here.