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Regional Parliamentary Seminar on Aid Effectiveness in Development, 18-20 June 2008, Dakar
On 18-20 June 2008 the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank, AWEPA and the World Bank hosted a Regional Parliamentary Seminar on “Aid Effectiveness in Development” in Dakar, Senegal. Along with the Speaker of the National Assembly of Senegal, the seminar included the the Senegalese Parliament, and members of the West African Chapter of PNoWB, and representatives of the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA).
The Hon. Macky Sall, Speaker of the National Assembly of Senegal, opened the conference by stressing the need to develop a strategy for the improvement of the delivery mechanisms of official development assistance how important it was to draft strong recommendations to these ends. Mr. Madani Tall, Director of Operations of the World Bank for Senegal, Gambia, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Niger, highlighted some of the recommendations made in the Paris Declaration and the role that parliamentarians play in delivering more effective ODA. He stressed that parliamentary influence has a strong impact on policy choices and that parliamentarians must take this responsibility seriously.
At the same time, with an increased tendency for General Budget Suport (GBS), “We must ensure that a country has all the necessary legislative, legal and administrative means for an efficient management of public funds, without diversion of objectives, as well as a reliable system allowing for systematic accountability in front of Parliament and citizens.” Parliamentarians, he noted, are important on both ends of the budgetary equation, both “upstream” before legislation is voted, as well as “downstream” in assessing the effective execution of the promises made.
The work of the Seminar was divided into three panels. Panel one “Presentation of the Paris Declaration: objectives, issues, mechanisms” included a presentation by Mr. Julien Chevillard UNDP expert in Aid Effectiveness, in which she informed participants on various aspects of the Paris Declaration, its follow-up and the upcoming High Level Forum in Accra.
Panel two “Paris Declaration Evaluation: what lessons, what impacts on poverty reduction strategies, what role for the parliamentarians in this process?” commenced with the intervention of Mr. Mamadou Mignane Diouf from Congad, Member of the Senegalese Social Forum who underlined that "The Paris Declaration is an admission of the failure of the different policies introduced in order to bring Africa out of underdevelopment.” The historical background given by Mr. Diouf reminded us that after the industrial revolution, in which a new balance of power between the North and the South emerged and the concept of official development assistance was born. Since that time, however, all the efforts to solve the problem of poverty whatever their titles have led to little progress. In his view, it is imperative that governments around the world prioritize and ensure proper monitoring of aid. To these ends parliamentary capacity building is required.
The Millennium development goals were brought to the fore in a presentation by Amadou Tidiane Dia, in charge of monitoring of the Paris Declaration at the Ministry of Economy, Finances and Planning. He stressed that the achievement of these goals depends on a substantial increase in aid provided to developing countries.” Mr. Dia urged parliamentarians to continue to fight outside the realm of the Paris Declaration because it alone is not alone capable of changing the balance of power between the North and the South. He stressed therefore that local strategies need to be developed.
Discussions on the floor were diverse and fruitful and focused around the vital role of parliaments and parliamentarians in the oversight of foreign assistance. The interventions brought forth a variety of questions “How can we bring the Executive to listen to a parliamentarian whatever his party may be?” asked Hon. Mamadou Sourghia (Niger). It was argued that because of the breath of communication with their constituents, parliamentarians know what their priorities are and are best prepared to make recommendations to the Executive. Others, such as Hon. Yacine Barry (Guinea),appealed to the participants for suggestions, noting that “Parliaments must be told how to intervene and at what level.” The need for capacity building was a ringing theme as well as cooperation and exchange of experiences between parliamentarians and civil society on the one hand and between South-South and North-South parliaments on the other hand.
Hon. Nanah Mint Cheikhna (Mauritania) concluded that "Members of Parliaments are not fully playing their roles either upstream or downstream.” Decisions on funding allocations are being made by governments without the involvement of parliaments, despite the fact that MPs understand the needs of the population better than anyone. Downstream, parliamentarians do not have enough tools at their disposal to scrutinize budgets. As Hon. Daléba Zozoro Jules (Ivory Coast) explains, “Governments are the donors’ privileged discussion partners”. At what moment can parliamentarians be involved? How can they be efficiently involved? Responses to this question addressed the need for parliamentarians to take the issue into their own hands, but stressed that, in the end, “governments should be submitted to the authority of parliaments.” Donor countries must force governments to practice a take a more participatory approach, according to Hon. Kenneth Dzirasah (Ghana). In conclusion, as Hon. Kuku Dorbor (Liberia) explained, "Parliaments must participate in the decision-making process.”
Hon. Mamadou Seck (Senegal) went on to add that, "Africa still lags behind because priorities are misunderstood.” He argues that support has benefitted to the executive and civil society but parliaments continue to suffer from lack of vigour. This situation should encourage the various stakeholders to rethink the role of parliamentarians in the democratic system. It is of utmost urgency that parliaments are empowered so that inter-parliamentary exchanges can develop and bolster the strength of parliaments as a whole.
In the the third panel, “Issues and development of budget support, parliamentary follow-up and budget oversight,” Mr. Khalifa Ababacar Sall, representative of the PNoWB West African Chapterm introduced the idea that “public aid appears to parliamentarians as a gigantic farce because they are marginalized from the start.” Even General Budget Support, he maintained, entails requirements between governments and donors before any funds arrive. In this way, aid remains tied because it becomes a form of concealed subsidy. Therefore a number of questions emerge: do partner countries really have the freedom to use our funds as they wish? Is budget support a new trend?
He urged participants to reflect on the implementation of agreed policies that would involve parliamentarians in budget formulation and orientation. “We must think about offering members of parliament the means to weigh on expense allocation”, he said. By empowering parliamentarians, follow-up on the implementation of budgetary issues can be ensured. To these ends, Mr. Sall suggested that parliaments appoint a rapporteur to follow all the issues both upstream and downstream.
Within the broader framework, Ms. Lydia Maximus, member of AWEPA emphasised that “A fair partnership between the Western world and Africa is necessary.” Inter-parliamentary exchanges should be multiplied so that Europeans may exchange experiences with their African counterparts. Parliamentarians, she said, should be supported so that they may acquire the same level of understanding as everyone else. Hon. Daléba Zozoro Jules Ivory Coast echoed this point and went on to stress that “We must assume our responsibilities and take our destiny into our own hands.” He urged participants to end the politics of begging by further developing South-South relations because those in the South share a common destiny. “It is in the interest of the parliamentarians from the West African region to look in the same direction,” said Hon. Ndéye Fatou Touré (Senegal).
Furthermore, “Wasteful management of aid constitutes an obstacle to its effectiveness,” explained Hon. Nana Minth Cheikhna (Mauritania). We must be critical of ourselves and assess whether we are really making good use of aid. If the funds received are misused by governments for lofty expenses, it is not unusual for donors to start asking themselves questions. It is therefore urgent that parliaments be provided with a permanent administration in order to exercise permanent control. As Mr. Cheikh Seck of Senegal argues, “Training of parliamentarians is a matter of urgency so that they can participate in budgetary arbitration”
This urgency exists, explains Hon. Paul Mendy Gambia precisely because “If aid does not reach the populations, complaints are directed towards parliamentarians.” Members of parliament have no other option than to force governments to consult them. The first interlocutors of the populations are the parliamentarians, who must respond favourably to the expectations of the citizens. It is for this reason that we urge governments to involve parliamentarians further.
Mr. Khalifa Sall concluded the discussion by highlighting that “our countries’ real problem is the negotiation capacity: we need real experts.” Since we cannot free ourselves from aid, we must consider how we use it because the European taxpayer is asking for explanations. In the end, the African development will be made with or without our cooperation. It is time to acknowledge our mistakes and to implement the mechanisms that will allow for oversight of our government because, in the name of the separation of powers, each institution has its own prerogatives. But, in order to conduct adequate oversight, one must first be well informed and then be present from implementation through to the finalisation of each policy. For this, we need to use high quality local expertise.
The end of the session saw the unanimous adaptation of parliamentary recommendations to the High Level Forum in Accra.
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