An African politician has praised an ’extremely productive’ visit to the island arranged by the Clerk of Tynwald’s office.

Peter Mwathi led a delegation from Kenya to the Isle of Man which was examining parliamentary privilege mechanisms.

The three-day programme was delivered to members of Kenya’s committee of powers and privileges and gave the delegation the chance to observe a sitting of the House of Keys and Legislative Council.

Mr Mwathi said: ’We chose to come to Tynwald to learn about parliamentary privilege best practice, enforcement mechanisms and challenges because we recognise this is an area where we need to do better.

’Parliament cannot function without parliamentary privilege but we are a national assembly made up of 42 different tribes of diverse backgrounds, languages and cultures, which can sometimes lead to self-aggrandisement among our members.

’We know, though, that there has to be a change in behaviours and a formal structure put in place through a Powers and Privileges Act if we are not only to ensure transparency and the integrity and honour of the court, but also engage better with the people we serve.’

He praised MHKs for how much they ’care’ about the island and the level of attentiveness in the chambers which he said was something the delegation wanted to take home with them ’to encourage our members to keep to the business of the day’.

Mr Mwathi added: ’We have been very warmly welcomed in the Isle of Man and our study visit to Tynwald has been extremely productive.

’We hope this will help to set us on a new cultural path for our country.’

Speaker Juan Watterson said the visit was a ’great opportunity’ to build on the island’s relationship with Kenya which began with the Commonwealth parliamentary conference in Nairobi in 2010 when Mr Watterson attended with then infrastructure minister Phil Gawne.

Mr Watterson added: ’Since then three delegations of members and officers have come to the Isle of Man to share knowledge and insight.

’We are always happy to welcome parliamentarians from around the world and learn and share from each other’s experiences.’