THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENT IN GOVERNANCE AND POVERTY REDUCTION'

1
THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENT IN GOVERNANCE AND POVERTY
REDUCTION.

• HOW DOES PARLIAMENT OVERSEE DEVELOPMENT?
• The South African Experience.
• Donald M. Gumede.
• Joint Africa Institute Seminar on the Role of
  National Parliaments in Good Governance and
  Poverty Reduction in Africa 17th 21st April,
  2006 Tunis, Tunisia.

2
CHALLENGES.

• Optimise the use of scarce resources to address
  absolute poverty as priority.
• Reduce leakages of resources.
• Resources to be used economically, efficiently
  as well as effectively.
• Measure performance.
• Enhance capacity of parliament

3
THE OVERSIGHT TOOLS.1. The
Reconstruction and Development Programme.2.
Departmental Strategic plans on poverty
reduction.3. Annual Reports.4. Report of the
Auditor general.5. The Millennium Development
Goals.6. The State of the Nation Address by
the President.7. The Budget.

• OVERSIGHT.

4
DEVELOPMENTBasic needs, dignity, basic freedoms,
capabilities and entitlements.Growth is
necessary but not sufficient need government to
intervene.

• DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES TO ADDRESS POVERTY AND
  INEQUALITY.
• TARGETTING THE POOR RACIAL HISTORICAL, GENDER,
  YOUTH, REGIONAL, RURAL.
• EDUCATION AND HEALTH CAPACITY POVERTY.
• SECTOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING AGENTS FOR ON THE
  JOB SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN SECTORS.
• FURTHER EDUCATION TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR TECHNICAL
  SKILLS TRAINING.
• PENSIONS FOR CHRONIC POVERTY WHICH IS DUE TO OLD
  AGE OR DISABILITY.
• SOCIAL GRANTS FOR CHILDREN BORN IN DIRE POVERTY.
• EPWP RURAL AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL
  LABOUR.
• DIRECT INTERACTION WITH PEOPLE THROUGH PUBLIC
  FORA.

5
FINANCIAL RESOURCES OVERSIGHT FRAMEWORK.

• PFMA Rules that govern management of financial
  resources.
• Structures internal audit and audit committee.
• Unauthorized expenditure e.g. over expenditure.
• Irregular expenditure fruitless, wasteful or
  illicit.
• Action taken to be reported in Annual Report
  this is legal requirement.
• Gross financial mismanagement financial
  misconduct which is a criminal matter.
• Standing Committee On Public Accounts (SCOPA)
  oversee financial matters.
• The Auditor General does Regulatory and
  Compliance audit and increasingly value for money
  audit.
• Close relationship between SCOPA and the Office
  of the Auditor General.
• Auditor assists SCOPA with capacity in scrutiny.

6
Conflict of interest.

• Members register of financial interests to be
  updated every year.
• Register open to public and media for scrutiny.
• Code of conduct declare gifts and property.
• Designated employees in Public service have to
  declare financial interests.
• Failure to declare disciplinary matter and bad
  publicity to member, party and parliament.
• Post tenure arrangements Public Representatives
  prohibited to tender in municipalities for six
  months.
• Freedom of the media.

7
Committees.

• All committees open to public and media.
• Freedom of expression.
• P.C. oversight on policy matters and delivery.
• Budget committee relationship between executive
  brief and budget.
• SCOPA Financial matters - Opposition Chair.
• Gender children and disabled.
• Committees instruments for delivery oversight
  using mainly oversight tools above.

8
Concluding remarks.

• Good governance is preemptive measure against
  corruption and mismanagement.
• Openness, transparency and accountability part of
  good governance.
• Rules and institutions important for
  accountability.
• Office of the Auditor general is autonomous.
• Understanding of mandate of government very
  important this includes how govt. is addressing
  poverty in specific ways.
• Questions, debates, committee hearings and
  investigations, site visits by MPs, constituency
  work with members of the public, freedom of
  expression, freedom of the media, Ombudsman are
  important mechanisms of oversight among others.

9
Conclusion.

• Scarce resources have to be used optimally and
  choices have to be made as to where to prioritize
  their allocation.
• Africa and the developing world have made their
  choice clear and that choice is poverty
  reduction. As public representatives ours is to
  ensure that scarce resources are allocated
  efficiently, effectively, economically and
  according to those choices. Networking can only
  make us stronger in executing that mandate.