The Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) is holding hybrid hearing sessions to discuss public human and social development and special programmes by its standing committee.
The sessions began today and will continue until next week Friday.
The sessions are being held under the theme: “Leveraging the Role of SADC Parliamentary Forum in Facilitating Citizen Participation in SADC Regional Integration for Enhanced Accountability and Inclusive Socio-Economic Development and Cohesion.”
They aim to deepen opportunities for citizens to use parliamentary spaces to advance accountability, promote inclusive socioeconomic development, and enhance regional cohesion.
According to a recent statement from the Lesotho parliament, the objective of the sessions is to leverage the role of parliaments in promoting transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to citizen concerns in the context of regional integration.
The hearings will allow the SADC PF standing committee to explore parliamentary approaches to contemporary issues such as climate change, public financial management, gender-based violence, corruption, youth employment, public health financing, and digital transformation.
The committee will use insights and recommendations from the public hearings to inform SADC PF’s programming priorities and contribute to the broader SADC Agenda.