Four members of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature (ECPL) are currently attending the annual National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) in the US state of Kentucky.
Four members of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature (ECPL) are currently attending the annual National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) in the US state of Kentucky.
One of the delegates attending the NCSL, which began yesterday, is Chief Parliamentary Officer Herlu Smith who says “Tourism is of immense importance after the Fifa World Cup and to learn from the USA and other countries would be an enriching experience.” Smith believes that tourism as a development strategy fits in well with the ECPL’s plans for development.
That’s not to say that the delegates will skimp on other areas of the conference. “Tourism as a development strategy is important, but so are other sessions on improving liveability, economic development and renewable energy,” says Smith.
Each of the delegates are also focusing on their own particular field of interest such as education, health, transport or commerce. All the information received by the ECPL delegates will be compiled in a report on their return, which will be available to the public on request.
Attending the ECPL’s tenth visit to the summit along with Smith are Deputy Speaker Bulelwa Tunyiswa-Gqoboka and ECPL members Christian Martin and Neo Moerane-Mamase. An exact figure for the cost of the trip is unknown but Smith estimates that the trip will cost the ECPL close to R100 000.
The summit concludes tomorrow and is being attended by 5000 legislative and government officials, business representatives and union members, who are taking part in 150 seminar sessions covering such topics as economy, transport, healthcare, energy and tourism.
The NCSL summit was established in 1975 in order to serve the legislatures of United State’s 50 states, its commonwealths and territories as a platform for the exchange of ideas on state legislature. The NCSL provides policymakers with a forum to research and discuss vital state or provincial issues.
