PARLIAMENTS-CSOs PARTNERSHIP IN APRM

1. PARLIAMENTS-CSOs PARTNERSHIP IN APRM Dr. Khabele Matlosa Programme Advisor, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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).