Following the Money: Comparing Parliamentary Public Accounts Committees

1. Following the Money: Comparing Parliamentary Public Accounts Committees

2. 1. The Structure of PACs (a) The “Old Story” • Size matters (of legislature & PACs) • Number of staff important • Adequate representation of opposition parties in PAC • Political affiliation of the Chair

3. 1. The Structure of PACs (b) The “New Story” • Size little changed – but not so important; more important – how willing the PAC is to perform oversight • % of opposition members varies from 7.2% in West Africa to 50.5% in Australia & NZ • Party affiliation of chair may not be critical • Political fragmentation may undermine importance

4. 2. The Activities of PACs (a) The “Old Story” • Organizational features/characteristics matter • Committee practices matter • Indicator – frequency with which certain results were achieved • Number of meetings held • Subjects covered • Reports produced

5. 2. The Activities of PACs (b) The “New Story” • Updated information – more comprehensive and detailed account of what PACs do • Demonstrated link between PAC activity and PAC output • Demonstrated that all PAC activities tend to go hand in hand and that some activities are more important than others

6. . Number of PAC reports and ability to control of corruption

7. PAC Reports & GNI per Capita

8. Bottom line • PAC effectiveness is a cause, and not a consequence, of good governance • What makes PACs work in some regions has no impact on PAC performance in other regions

9. 3. The Capacity of PACs (a) The “Old Story” • Bipartisan approach • Enormous diversity • Link between AG and PAC is significant • Most common; PAG work focuses on AG report, rather than on examining the public accounts

10. 3. The Capacity of PACs (b) The “New Story” • Prior assumption that PAC powers were similar around the globe is false, they differ in two significant aspects • Right of access • PAC powers Also, capacity and resources: • Staff and funding

11. EG

12. 4. Small Country PACs • Good working relationship with AG critical • Small 3; recommend 4-10 • Joint committee, if two chambers • Close working relationship with other policy review committees • Co-opt non-parliamentarians?

13. 5. Changing world of PACs:3 transformations • Emergence of new and non-Commonwealth PACs • New role and modus operandi for new PACs • New role and modus operandi for old PACs • Plus…Questioning of “traditional model”

14. 6. Emergence of new and non-Commonwealth PACs • Afghanistan • Bhutan • Denmark • Ethiopia • Federated States of Micronesia • Finland • Israel • Indonesia • Kosovo • Liberia • Morocco • Myanmar • Nepal • Rwanda • Southern Sudan • Thailand • Turkey

15. 7. What does this mean for CoC GPG? International Initiatives: • GIFT • Parliamentary Benchmarks • Work undertaken by other PAC networks Where is the SADC/ EAC CoCinitiative: • Identified challenges that good practice needs to be distilled around • SADCOPAC/ EAAPAC good practice guides