Parliamentary Reform in Africa

Many African parliaments have undertaken ground  breaking reforms - building networks to combat corruption, improving parliamentary administration and strengthening parliamentary oversight of the budget process among others.

On October 2-5, 2007, WBI and the Parliament of Finland brought together over 20 senior

parliamentarians from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania for a seminar to exchange experiences, lessons learned and good practice. The agenda explored parliament's role in poverty reduction, curbing corruption, the budget process, issues of representation, and parliamentary administration. MPs described examples from their own countries in panel  discussions and several MPs submitted in-depth papers on their experiences to the seminar. 

On corruption, African parliamentarians were innovators, forming  African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC), a network that aims at coordinating and strengthening the capacity of African parliamentarians to fight corruption and promote good governance. APNAC was established during a WBI sponsored regional seminar on “Parliament and Good Governance: Towards a New Agenda for Controlling Corruption in Africa” in 1999. APNAC now has 20 local chapters across the continent and was the precursor to the now global network (GOPAC).  Tanzania’s local chapter hosts seminars to expose various bureaucratic practices which increase the risk of corruption.  It may also submit its reports to the speaker who can then take them to the president.  However the group is often challenged by its informal nature.

Ugandan MPs presented two sets of important reforms around the budget process and parliamentary administration.  Both sets of reforms were introduced as private members bills, highlighting the key role that even individual MPs can play. Uganda’s Budget Act increased consultation during budget preparation and monitoring of budget implementation, and established an independent parliamentary budget office (PBO) which provides assistance to parliamentarians throughout the budget process.  This is seen as particularly important as MPs often lack the capacity to analyze the government’s proposals on their own. Among its duties the PBO provides analysis and reports to parliament on local revenue, foreign inflows, expenditure, and economic indicators. The PBO also produces a record of the parliament’s recommendations to government and government’s compliance or non-compliance. Uganda’s PBO is a model for many countries worldwide.

Similarly the reforms of the parliamentary administration have increased parliamentary staff in Uganda’s parliament from around 57 to over 200 and established departments to help members draft bills, undertake research, and improve public relations.  However challenges remain.  For example, when trying to undertake ex post oversight of the budget, participants noted that they are often faced with Auditor General’s reports that are several years out of date.  In Kenya, where administrative reforms also led to the creation of a Parliamentary Service Commission and autonomy over parliament’s budget, parliamentarians have faced criticism for regularly raising their salaries.

Discussion on representation focused largely around women’s representation in parliament. Due in part to constitutional provisions to promote and encourage women’s participation at all levels of decision-making, Rwanda’s parliament currently has the most women members worldwide. Uganda presented the successes and challenges around its experience with reserved seats for women, while Mozambique demonstrated that women have risen to the highest level of government, including the current prime minister, with no quota system. Interestingly, Finland was the first country to allow women to both vote and run for public office and the first autonomous parliament included 19 women elected in 1907.

Participants also attended the launch of WBI's new book on the "Role of Parliament in Conflict Affected Countries" that was undertaken in partnership with the Parliament of Finland, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs – Finland, and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).  WBI and the Parliament of Finland will mark 10 years of cooperation next year.

For more information contact  Rick Stapenhurst or visit the WBI Parliamentary Strengthening Program’s webpage.