GOVERNANCE FORUM IN ARUSHA ADVANCES LEGISLATIVE STATECRAFT TO DRIVE AFRICA’S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION

ARUSHA, TANZANIA — October 8, 2026 — On Wednesday, the Africa Governance Centre, in partnership with the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) and the Conference of Speakers and Presidents of African Legislatures (COSPAL), convened the inaugural Strategic Legislative Governance Forum (SLGF 2026) at the EALA Chamber within the East African Community Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. Held on the sidelines of the 153rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the high-level gathering brought together parliamentary speakers, regional lawmakers, and key policy leaders from across the continent to address the theme of "Legislative Statecraft and Economic Transformation in Africa."

The forum responded to a critical gap in African development discourse. While discussions on state capacity typically center on executive governments and public administration, legislatures possess constitutional powers that carry profound economic implications. Through lawmaking, fiscal authorization, debt oversight, public institution mandates, and the ratification of regional accords such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), parliaments shape the long-term foundations of national economies. Conveners emphasized that economic transformation hinges as much on institutional durability and quality policy execution as it does on the ambition of development plans themselves. The forum was structured around the core concept of "legislative statecraft," encouraging lawmakers to exercise their authority in ways that build state capacity, improve governance, and foster credible environments for productive investment.

The proceedings commenced with an opening plenary featuring welcome remarks from Benedicta Lasi, Chair of the Africa Governance Centre, and a host address by Rt. Hon. Joseph Ntakirutimana, Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana, Chair of the IPU Africa Group, and President of COSPAL, delivered a keynote address alongside remarks slated by Rt.Hon. Daniel Baran Sillo, Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania, representing the Rt. Hon. Mussa Azzan Zungu, MP, Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania, in a session moderated by EALA Commissioner Hon. Jacqueline Amongin.

The first high-level panel, a Speakers' Roundtable moderated by EALA Member of Parliament Hon. George Odongo of Uganda, focused on the legislature's role within the developmental state. Parliamentary leaders—including Botswana National Assembly Speaker Rt. Hon. Dithapelo Keorapetse, Zimbabwe National Assembly Speaker Rt. Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, Democratic Republic of the Congo Senate President H.E. Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge, H.E Dr. Fateh Boutbig, president , Pan-African Parliament, Rt.Hon. Joseph Ntakirutimana,  Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, and Eswatini Senate President Rt. Hon. Lindiwe T. Dlamini—examined the internal institutional capabilities parliaments require to engage credibly with complex economic areas like industrial development, energy, strategic minerals, digital markets, and regional trade.

A second high-level panel, moderated by Benedicta Lasi, addressed the political foundations of long-term economic strategy. Featuring panelists such as Hon. Kouassi Koffi Kra Paulin of Côte d'Ivoire, Senator Hamida Ali Kibwana of Kenya, Hon. Faith Muthambi of South Africa, and parliamentary delegates from Chad and Namibia, the session explored strategies to sustain core national development priorities across electoral transitions without undermining democratic competition or political accountability.

Throughout the deliberations, the forum pursued five primary objectives: clarifying the specific contribution of legislative authority relative to executive roles, exercising parliamentary powers to enhance productive capacity, translating continental agreements like the AfCFTA into effective domestic law, building cross-party consensus on long-term national goals, and establishing a lasting mechanism for continental collaboration.

The event concluded with a closing keynote address by H.E. Dr. Fateh Boutbig, President of the Pan-African Parliament, who formally launched the Strategic Legislative Governance Platform. Designed as a continuing mechanism, the platform will support ongoing research, comparative analysis, and peer-to-peer legislative learning to ensure the insights generated in Arusha translate into stronger parliamentary capability across the continent.

About the Conveners

The Strategic Legislative Governance Forum is organized by the Africa Governance Centre—a policy organization dedicated to institutional governance and economic development—in partnership with the East African Legislative Assembly, the legislative arm of the East African Community, and the Conference of Speakers and Presidents of African Legislatures.

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Nicodemus Ajak Bior

Senior Public Relations Officer (SPRO)

East Africa Legislative Assembly

Arusha, Tanzania

Tel: +255-768-885-633/, +254729157207(WhatsApp)

Email: nbior@eachq.org

Web: www.eala.org