Need for Parliamentary oversight for governance and accountability

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) in association with South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) will hold a National Forum on Parliamentary Best Practices on 16 February 2012 in Colombo. The two institutions conducted the research under the ‘Parliament Watch’ program initiated by SAHR since 2010.

TISL’s Senior Consultant, Rutherford Hubbard discusses the importance of effective parliamentary oversight.

Parliamentary oversight is a crucial function of Parliament. This simple fact has been affirmed and reaffirmed, time and again, throughout the community of parliamentary nations. It has become almost axiomatic that, in the words of the Public Accounts Committee of new South Wales Australia, “The Parliament is the centre of the accountability of the public sector and that it is through its accountability to the parliament that the public sector is ultimately accountable to the people.”

Yet, like many commonly accepted assumptions about “good governance,” parliamentary oversight has become a buzzword, too often devoid of meaning and isolated from practice. In Sri Lanka, parliamentary oversight is desperately needed. With the ruling party holding a two-thirds majority in Parliament and a proportionately large private sector, transparency and accountability are crucial to achieve meaningful democracy and sustained economic growth. Parliamentary oversight is not only the “right thing” to do. One of Sri Lanka’s leading economists recently noted that Sri Lanka is losing 2% of GDP growth a year to mismanagement in the public sector.

Despite the great deal of talk about transparency and accountability, parliamentary oversight remains more an idea than a reality. On February 16th 2012, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) and South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) will join with the Chairmen of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and the Public Accounts Committee PAC), Members of Parliament, and governance experts to turn this talk into action. The National Consultation on Parliament Watch will share TISL’s research findings on best practices in South Asia and the performance of the Sri Lankan Parliament in 2010-11. Then the Consultation participants will engage themselves in direct discussion on how parliamentary oversight can be improved in Sri Lanka.

If parliamentary oversight is to be truly effective, parliamentary best practices must be identified and implemented. This means that oversight committees must have true independence in the pursuit of transparency and accountability, clear and expansive powers to conduct necessary investigations, support from political leadership, meaningful inclusion of the opposition parties, adequate resources for oversight bodies, and strong links to other relevant agencies. Political interference and lack of resources in particular, have hampered parliamentary oversight in other Commonwealth states.

Oversight committees in Sri Lanka Parliament, COPE and PAC have set a strong example, and the participation of their chairmen will add a depth of experience to the National Consultation. At the same time, the limited follow up to the recent COPE Report reveals that Sri Lanka has a long way to go before Parliamentary oversight is more than a buzzword in Sri Lanka.

The National Consultation will bring together a variety of actors to discuss ways to include non-parliamentary oversight bodies like the Ombudsman and the Auditor General, as well as civil society, to work with the Government to improve transparency and accountability. The importance of individual efforts by parliamentarians will also be highlighted. Parliamentary oversight may be a buzzword for many, but on February 16th the National Consultation will identify real steps needed to improve Parliamentary oversight as collaborative project.