The Speaker of the Limpopo Legislature, Dr Tshenuwani Farisani, has commended the Commonwealth Africa region for choosing the province, Limpopo, as a host for this year's Security Conference.

In his statement, Farisani said the conference, to be attended by more than 50 Commonwealth countries, is a milestone in repositioning South Africa, and Limpopo in particular, as a host country for the World Cup in 2010. The conference will be held at Hans Merensky, Phalaborwa, on August 31.

"We in Limpopo have been fortunate in that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), African Chapter of which we are a member, has chosen South Africa to host this security conference. In South Africa, they have chosen Limpopo Province. We in Limpopo have in turn decided that Phalaborwa would be an ideal place to host more than 50 nations of the Commonwealth," said Dr Farisani.

He also emphasized that the program includes some of the top speakers in the security industry. These would include Interpol, the SAPS, NIA and most African countries.

The theme of the conference, "developing a professional cadre of a sergeant-at-arms," is suggested and developed by the Commonwealth Sergeant at Arms (African Region). The Speaker added that members of the commonwealth will be given a treat they shall never forget. These would include welcoming dinners hosted by the Patron of the CPA (Limpopo Region), Premier Sello Moloto, the Speaker of the Limpopo Legislature, Dr Tshenuwani Farisani, and the secretary, Advocate Edward Lambani. Other excursions in the program include visits to the Kruger National Park and music by indigenous Limpopo musicians.

The conference is held on a yearly rotational basis. The last one was held in Ghana last year and the theme was “Enhancing security in Parliament". The first conference of this kind in South Africa was hosted by the Western Cape Legislature five years back.

"Because ours is a participatory democracy, we have roped in many of our partners to work with us so that the conference becomes a success. It is my privilege to thank the Ba-Phalaborwa municipality in advance for their sterling assistance throughout the preparations, and we have no doubt that the end results will be as satisfactorily as possible. We also wish to thank the business community within Phalaborwa for their participation and sponsoring most of the dinners," said the Farisani.