PARLIAMENTS-CSOs PARTNERSHIP IN APRM

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PARLIAMENTS-CSOs PARTNERSHIP IN APRM

• Dr. Khabele Matlosa
• Programme Advisor, United Nations Development
  Programme (UNDP), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

• SIGNIFICANCE AND VALUE OF THE APRM.
• STRATEGIC ROLES OF PARLIAMENTS AND CSOs IN APRM.
• PARLIAMENTS-CSOs PARTNERSHIP.
• MAIN CONCLUSIONS.

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SIGNIFICANCE OF APRM

• Monitoring progress of African states in signing,
  ratifying and applying international and
  continental standards and codes
• Institutionalising a culture of accountability
  and transparency by linking the governors and the
  governed
• Promoting a culture of dialogue and consultations
  in governance
• Identifying governance challenges (early-warning
  mechanism) and profiling best practices for
  experience sharing and lessons learning
• Enhancing civic engagement and participation in
  governance.

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STRATEGIC ROLES OF PARLIAMENTS AND CSOs

• Parliament forms one of the three main organs of
  government
• The other two being the executive (policy-making
  body) and the judiciary (justice adjudication
  body)
• In some countries, parliament is unicameral
  (national assembly only)
• In others, it is bi-cameral (national assembly
  and senate)
• The three primary functions of a parliament are
  (a) representation, (b) law-making and (c)
  oversight.

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STRATEGIC ROLES OF PARLIAMENTS AND CSOs (Cont).

• These three functions of parliament should inform
  its strategic engagement in the APRM process as
  follows
• Representation-parliament has the duty to ensure
  that views of the people are well represented in
  the APRM report, through, inter alia, its
  constituency offices
• Law-making-parliament should promulgate
  appropriate laws to bring about governance
  reforms as articulated in the CRM report and
  monitor implementation of such laws and
• Oversight-parliament has to oversee
  implementation of the National Programme of
  Action (NPoA), vote appropriate budget for its
  implementation and monitor public expenditure
  through an appropriate committee (e.g. Public
  Accounts Committee)
• In order to ensure its strategic engagement with
  the APRM process, parliament ought to create a
  specific committee on NEPAD/APRM to ensure its
  strategic participation throughout all the five
  key stages of the APRM
• Effective participation of parliament in APRM
  will help reduce the overwhelming executive
  dominance.

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STRATEGIC ROLES OF PARLIAMENT AND CSOs (Cont.)

• CSOs constitute an important actor in governance
  and a key indicator of the degree of civic
  engagement
• Society is made up of three main sectors, namely
• The public sector (government and parastatals)
• The private sector (formal and informal
  businesses) and
• The voluntary sector (civil society organisations
  and Community-based organisations)
• The three main functions of CSOs and CBOs are (a)
  mobilisation of citizens for civic engagement in
  governance (b) lobby and advocacy for policy
  influence and (c) acting as a watchdog against
  power abuse and corruption

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STRATEGIC ROLES OF PARLIAMENT AND CSOs (Cont.)

• CSOs and CBOs ought mobilise the people and guide
  them for their effective and meaningful
  participation in the APRM process
• Once the APRM report and the NPoA are in place,
  CSOs and CBOs ought lobby and advocate for
  appropriate governance reforms
• CSOs and CBOs should position themselves
  strategically in order to curtail executive
  dominance in the APRM process and expose
  corruption in the implementation of the NPoA
• CSOs and CBOs should form alliances and
  coordinate their efforts for effective engagement
  in all the five stages of the APRM.

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STRATEGIC ROLES OF PARLIAMENTS AND CSOs (Cont.)

• Parliaments and CSOs need to form strategic
  alliances for two main reasons
• To promote meaningful citizen engagement in APRM
  and
• To curtail executive dominance of the APRM
  process
• The strategic partnership of parliaments and CSOs
  are possible in five main areas
• Public awareness and sensitisation
• Simplification of APRM techniques and
  information-sharing
• National dialogue and consultations
• Preparation of the country self-assessment report
  (CSAR) and the Country Review Mission (CRM)
  report
• Preparation, implementation and monitoring of the
  NPoA

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MAIN CONCLUSIONS

• Composition of the National Governing Council
  should include a significant representation of
  parliamentarians and CSOs
• Using their local networks and constituency
  offices, CSOs and parliamentarians will be better
  positioned to more effectively promote the APRM
  and encourage citizen participation
• MPs should work in partnership with both the
  public and private media in promoting civic
  education and information around the
  self-assessment process
• Parliaments and CSOs should design complimentary
  strategies to monitor implementation of the
  National Programme of Action (NPoA)
• In adopting a constructive engagement, rather
  than a confrontational approach, towards APRM,
  the partnership between parliamentarians and CSOs
  will ensure that all key governance actors (both
  state and non-state) contribute meaningfully in
  the APRM process and thuis curtailing the
  omnipresence and dominance of the executive.

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USEFUL RESOURCES

• APRM Secretariat, APRM Country Review Reports
  (Various).
• ECA. 2008. African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)
  Handbook for African Civil Society, Addis Ababa,
  Ethiopia (Mimeo).
• ECA PAP. 2008. Putting Parliaments at the heart
  of the APRM Synopsis of the Bagamoyo Workshop on
  the APRM, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Mimeo).