The three-day training seminar for Members of Parliament and Parliamentary staff commenced yesterday at the Grand Coastal Inn, East Coast Demerara.The workshop, which aims to furnish participants with the insights,Cheap NBA Jerseys China, and strengthen their capacity to draft and amend legislation,Cheap NFL Jerseys Supply, was well attended by the three political parties represented in the National Assembly: The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC).Staff of the Parliament as well as those from the Ministry of Legal Affairs, are also participating in the course which is divided into two parts; the first being in October 2012 and the second in February of 2013.The United Nations Development Program and the Parliament are working together to conduct this course.Two experts will work with the participants for the first module, which started yesterday and will conclude tomorrow. They are Peter Vanhoutte, Co-founder and Chairman of the Center for Democratic and Participatory Governance and Steven van Wichelen,Cheap Hockey Jerseys, UNDP expert on Parliamentary Development.Speaking at the opening ceremony, Speaker of the National Assembly,NFL Jerseys Outlet, Raphael Trotman said the legislative training seminar comes after months of planning.He acknowledged the hard work of the National Assembly and thanked the UNDP for its continued partnership in developing the National Assembly and the Parliament office.Ms. Khadija Musa, UNDP Resident Representative, said the United Nations Development Fund is pleased to be associated with this training seminar.APNU Member of Parliament Joseph Harmon, in explaining the importance of the workshop, said a properly functioning democracy requires a properly functioning Parliament, and a properly functioning Parliament requires Parliamentarians who know how to both read and interpret legislation.Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall in delivering the feature address,cheap jerseys from china, said the workshop is timely and is vital to Guyana’s democracy.Nandlall noted that historically the legal drafting department has been resident in the Ministry of Legal Affairs and disclosed that he is advocating having legal advisors within the Parliament Office.The Attorney General in explaining the process involved in drafting legislation, said that it is a difficult science. He said that it is unimaginable that in three days any substantive training can be done and opined that the workshop must be an ongoing exercise. Nandlall further expressed Government’s full support to what he termed an unprecedented initiative.This legislative drafting course is implemented under the framework of the long-term agreement, which was signed between UNDP and the Parliament in 2011.Following the 2011 elections, and the election of the unique 10th Parliament, the Agency was re-engaged by the Speaker to vary its programme to meet the new dispensation that existed. The new programme gave rise to the Induction Seminar for MPs in May 2012,Cheap Jerseys From China, and continues now, with the current training in the legislative drafting process.