A paper presented at the 10 th SADCOPAC Conference in Arusha, Tanzania by Hon Mwansa Mbulakulima, Member of the Public Accounts Committee, Zambia 2-7 September, Strengthening Parliamentary Oversight Committees in Africa

Outline of Presentation 2 Introduction Understanding Parliamentary Oversight Factors in Strengthening Parliamentary Oversight Conclusion

Introduction 3 The extent to which Parliament can ensure that the Government remains accountable to the people can be said to be a true test of democracy and good governance. Among the tools that Parliament can use to perform the oversight function is the committee system. Studies have, however, shown that many parliaments are not able to effectively use the committee system to offer effective oversight due to several challenges. This paper identifies some key areas that parliaments in Africa need to take into account in their continued efforts to strengthen parliamentary oversight committees.

What is Parliamentary Oversight? 4 Parliamentary oversight simply means the review, monitoring and supervision of government and its agencies’ programmes, activities and policy implementation. The oversight function of parliament, therefore, entails, among other things, detecting and preventing abuse, arbitrary behaviour, or illegal and unconstitutional conduct on the part of the government and public agencies. It also entails holding the government to account in respect of how taxpayers’ money is used. It detects waste within the machinery of government and public agencies.(Yakamoto, 2007:9)

What is the role of the parliamentary Committees in Oversight? 5 The committee system plays a crucial role in the oversight function because it is through it that parliaments collect views and information from various stakeholders, including the executive, relating to specific policies or topical issues. For example, through the committee system, parliament systematically oversees the government with regard to areas such as public procurement, budgetary policies as well as financial management, among others. It is justifiable that parliaments should consistently seek and implement measures that are meant to strengthen the oversight committees.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? 6 In strengthening oversight committees, parliaments must try to address the limiting factors which hinder the effective functioning of committees. Some of the key areas to consider are discussed below.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? Cont… 7 Strengthening of legal mandates Oversight committees such as Public Accounts Committees (PACs) are established and institutionalised to assume their scrutiny function either through the country’s constitution, an act of parliament and standing orders or rules of the house. Whatever the case might be, the best practice is that the mandates and powers should be clearly stated in order to be understood by all stakeholders including the Members themselves. This creates a unity of purpose which is necessary for the PAC to effectively execute its role.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? Cont… 8 Promoting non-partisanship In order for oversight parliamentary committees to be effective in their work, there is need for the Members of such committees to be non-partisan as they perform their oversight role. This is admittedly difficult to attain but all parliaments should endevour to build an institutional consciousness that ensures that Members’ political party loyalties do not outweigh the work of the committee.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? Cont… 9 Formulation of development plans Although most parliaments have been implementing various reforms to enable them perform their roles more effectively, in some cases these efforts have not be codified in one development plan resulting in inconsistency and fragmentation of efforts The best practice would be for parliaments to come up with comprehensive development plans. Given the high turnover of parliamentarians in most parliaments, this would assist in maintaining consistency in the implementation of efforts meant to strengthen the oversight role of parliament. In case donors do get involved, this would also provide ownership by the parliament.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? Cont… 10 Involvement of parliamentarians in reform efforts There has been a tendency in some parliaments not to involve parliamentarians fully in reform and modernization efforts meant to strengthen the role of parliament. Since reform of parliament is political in nature, the parliamentarians must always be involved in order for them to assist in pushing the reform agenda. One of the best practices in this area is the establishment of a body of parliamentarians to help spearhead such reform efforts. In Zambia, a parliamentary committee called Reforms and Modernization Committee was established to lead the efforts.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? Cont… 11 Developing capacity of parliamentarians Although the work of parliamentarians is complex, few parliaments provide adequate training opportunities for Members. As a result of this, some Members are often ill prepared to perform their roles. To address this, parliaments should conduct orientations for new Members. Further, Members should be trained on how to apply oversight techniques which can result in better use of the committee system in holding governments to account. Parliaments should also encourage the participation of Members of the oversight committees in activities held by regional and international parliamentary bodies such as SADCOPAC.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? Cont… 12 Developing the capacity of staff To perform their oversight role effectively, committees need to be supported by a cadre of highly qualified staff. Unfortunately, some parliaments do not employ professional staff and if they do, they are insufficient in numbers. The good practice would be for parliaments to employ professional staff in diverse relevant fields to assist the committees in their work. In order to cater for the required numbers, some parliaments make effective use of internship programmes enabling university students to beef up their cadre of staff.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? Cont… 13 Improving access to information Access to information is very key to the work of oversight committees because with lack or inadequate information, the committees are unable to provide sufficient oversight over government activities. Unfortunately, oversight committees lack access to information required to adequately analyse government actions. Parliaments should therefore, advocate for the enactment of laws aimed at improving access to information. In Zambia this law is being awaited.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? Cont… 14 Creating a supportive infrastructural environment Most reform efforts aimed at opening parliament to the people require a corresponding expansion in infrastructure and other facilities for the use of oversight committees. Unfortunately, in many parliaments, facilities such as committee rooms, recording systems and furniture are in short supply which affects the work of oversight committees negatively. Parliaments should therefore endeavour to provide a conducive environment for the work of the committee.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? Cont… 15 Improving linkages with citizens In the past, parliaments have been accused of maintaining weak linkages with citizens. Probably due to security concerns, citizens are kept away from parliament buildings. However, over the years, most parliaments have began to provide access to the citizens but more could still be done to attract more citizens to interact with parliaments. For example, the Zambian Parliament has opened committee meetings to the media and the public. Further, deliberations of committees are now being aired live on radio while committee reports are also uploaded on the parliamentary website for the people to follow the work of the committees.

What should parliaments do to Strengthen Oversight Committees? Cont… 16 Creating sustainable strategic partnerships While parliaments can play an effective role in ensuring that there is accountability in the use of public resources, success can only be guaranteed through collective effort. There are other stakeholders that should also actively participate and should be encouraged to do so. These include the public service itself which should take action on the recommendations of the committees. Additionally, civil society is a key ally to oversight committees as a vibrant civil society can exert considerable pressure on governments. Parliaments should also work closely with cooperating partners interested in the area of parliamentary strengthening.

Conclusion 17 As pressure continues on most governance institutions including parliament to be more transparent and accountable to the people, efforts to reform and modernize such institutions will continue. But for the measures to strengthen the oversight function of parliament to be effective, there is need for parliaments to come up with development plans to provide a framework for parliament and all interested stakeholders, including cooperating partners to follow. Further, parliaments should ensure that Members of Parliament are actively involved in the reforms through the establishment of a body to spearhead such efforts.

Thank you for Listening 18

References 19 Johnson, J K and Nakamura, R, “A Concept Paper on Legislatures and Good Governance,” UNDP Paper, New York, 1999 Pelizzo, R and Stapenhurst, R, “Public Accounts Committees,” Singapore Management University Working Paper Series No Yamamoto, H, “Tools for Parliamentary Oversight,” IPU Publication, Geneva, 2007