|
Regional Parliamentary Seminar: Aid Effectiveness, Political Parties and the Media,
Kenya, 24-26 May 2008
A firm call for greater parliamentary involvement in the oversight of aid and the need for continuing discussions about the relationship between parliamentarians and the media were some of the key outcomes of the "East and Central African Regional Parliamentary Seminar: Aid Effectiveness, Political Parties and the Media", that took place from 24-26 May in Nairobi, Kenya.
The seminar, which was co-organised by EALA (East African Legislative Assembly) and AWEPA (Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa), was attended by all Members of the EALA, as well as Members from eight African Parliaments and five European Parliaments. The 120 seminar participants also included leading journalists from East and Central Africa, experts from Africa and Europe, and civil society representatives.
EALA Speaker, Hon. Abdirahin Abdi, opened the first part of the seminar on aid effectiveness by observing that as EALA and national Parliaments in Africa "aspire to improve parliamentary engagement with donors and recipients about aid policy, particular attention should be paid to the need to enhance capacity of Parliaments to play a major role in the issues of aid."
In his key note address at a reception sponsored by the East African Standard Newspaper, the former Speaker of the Kenyan Parliament, Mr. Francis Ole-Kaparo, said that Parliaments should know about every detail of aid, including terms, conditions and implementation: "the notion that only the executive knows what is good for the people is wrong".
During the seminar parliamentarians were informed about the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and the upcoming High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness taking place in Accra, Ghana in September. In a hard-hitting parliamentary message to the High Level Forum, delegates recommended that "parliamentarians should be systematically invited to participate in inter-governmental and international policy forums, especially on aid effectiveness". Donor and recipient governments should also be obliged to present details of all aid disbursed and received annually to their Parliaments.
The second part of the seminar addressed relations between parliamentarians, political parties and the media. "It is essential that parliamentarians guard, protect and support political parties and recognise the importance of the role played by a free and independent media" said Dr. Jan Nico Scholten, President of AWEPA, in his opening speech.
The importance of supporting women candidates in elections, and the key role that both political parties and the media have to play in this regard was another key issue addressed by experts including Hon. Jebii Kilimo, Chair of the Kenyan Women's Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) and Ms. Chantal Kanyimbo, President of the DRC National Press Union.
A lively debate took place about the role of the media in elections, attended by Mr. Salim Lone, Spokesperson for the Kenyan Prime Minister's office. In a working group on reconciliation and coalition building in a multi-party democracy, Hon. Anicet Niyongabo, MP for Burundi, set a high standard for discussions with information about Burundi's 2006 National Reconciliation Agreement.
Delegates also urged governments to involve parliaments from an early stage in discussions about international agreements, an example of which is the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. Seminar delegates urged all Member States of the African Union to speed up ratification of the charter and EALA Member Hon. Lydia Wanyoto, committed EALA to follow up on ratification in the East African Community.
In a working group on parliamentary and media relations a set of draft guidelines was discussed. Mr. Frank Klein, CEO of Media Focus on Africa who drafted the guidelines and facilitated the working group, said that relations between parliament and the media are like an uneasy but unavoidable marriage. Both work in the interest of the people at large with the purpose to build, from different angles, an informed society. Parliaments are constitutionally mandated to represent the people, while the media must inform and empower them with knowledge about parliamentary proceedings. Delegates agreed to discuss the draft guidelines during national country workshops in their individual Parliaments.
Parliamentarians and media representatives also met in national discussion groups to assess existing legislative and regulatory frameworks supporting the media, and made action plans for future improvements.
Closing the seminar, Mr. Pär Granstedt, Secretary General of AWEPA, committed AWEPA to continue discussing the important issues raised in national workshops. He also confirmed that AWEPA would facilitate a parliamentary delegation to the September 2008 Accra forum on aid effectiveness to ensure that parliamentary engagement in the debate continues.
The key seminar documents can be found below as soon as they are available:
|
Press Release - English