What Africanist Press Is Saying Is That… Democratic Governance Goes With Accountability

By Amin Kef Sesay

No doubt, the Africanist Press has ruffled the feathers of the ruling SLPP Government by demanding from it accountability in the use of public funds; implying how judiciously and responsibly those funds alleged to have been misused were used.

It is good that the Speaker of Parliament, Dr Abass Bundu has rose up to the occasion by, based on the 2018 and 2019 Auditor General’s Reports, calling for a debate on the Auditor General’s reports and allegations of financial impropriety by officials of this administration; as had been demanded about three months ago by Hon. Dr Kandeh Yumkella, seconded by Hon. Hassan Sesay.

In all representative democracies, Parliaments perform a vital role not only in improving the quality of governance by ensuring transparency and accountability, but also in shaping the public’s expectations and attitudes to democracy.

Constitutionally, Parliament is the single most important institution in overseeing Government activity, scrutinizing legislation and representing the public’s concerns to those in power.

Their performance in holding Government to account and engaging with voters helps to establish the norms and values of a democratic culture.

The overarching purpose of parliamentary oversight is to hold Government to account. While Governments are directly accountable to voters at elections, in between elections it is the duty of Parliamentarians to hold Ministers and their Departments to account on the public’s behalf.

Parliamentary oversight is the main means by which Government is held to account; Parliament should ensure Government departments are run efficiently and that Ministers are regularly called to account for their actions, policies and spending.

As such, Parliament has four key oversight roles:

• Transparency and openness. Parliament should shed light on the operations of Government. It provides a public arena in which Government’s policies and actions are debated, exposed to scrutiny and held up to public opinion.
• Delivery. Parliamentary oversight should test whether the government’s policies have been implemented, and whether they are having the desired impact.
• Value for money. Parliament needs to approve and scrutinize Government spending. It should highlight waste within publicly-funded services, and aim to improve the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of Government expenditure.
• Tackling corruption and misuse of power. Parliament should protect the rights of citizens by detecting and preventing abuse of power, arbitrary behaviour and illegal or unconstitutional conduct by government.

In short, a Parliament’s role is to provide a check on the activity of government. The role might be thought of as providing “Government by explanation”. That is, highlighting issues of concern and ensuring that Government is able to justify its actions to the public, or where that policy is deficient, forcing a change.

The tools available to MPs to achieve these objectives vary from Parliament to Parliament, but they tend to be pursued through three main routes, namely via the plenary session (through questions and debates), the committee system (through investigations) or in conjunction with outside agencies that report to Parliament.

It is in this last area where Parliaments have the potential to be most effective in strengthening systems of domestic accountability. Parliaments derive much of their authority from the fact that a number of accountability institutions usually report to them.

These range from the supreme audit institution, the Ombudsman and the Electoral Commission, through to utility regulators, inspectorates and agencies.

Such institutions provide a wealth of information on the performance of Government in specific policy areas, and provide the evidence on which Parliament can hold Ministers, and Ministries, to account.

In other words, Parliaments should sit at the centre of a web of accountability, liaising with the range of independent experts and institutions, absorbing the detail of their investigations and drawing out the salient political points for which the Executive should be held to account.