FPAC members attend Sadcopac governance meetings and training in Zambia |17 April 2023
Hon. Romain and Hon. Gill at the conference
The Southern Africa Development Community Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (Sadcopac) in collaboration with the Parliament of Zambia hosted Governing Council Meetings and two-day training from April 4-7, 2023, in Lusaka, Zambia.
The sessions were attended by Hon. Churchill Gill and Hon. Georges Romain as members of the Finance & Public Accounts Committee (FPAC). They were accompanied by the deputy Clerk to the National Assembly, Alexandria Faure, who is also the secretary to the FPAC.
On April 3, the delegation paid a courtesy call on the 2nd deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia, Hon. Moses F. Moyo, followed by a meeting with the director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Austin Kayanda.
Hon. Moyo welcomed the large delegation to Zambia and addressed the importance of parliamentary oversight on the expenditure of public funds by its public bodies, reiterating how the public accounts committees promote and ensure the efficient management of public resources. Following the courtesy call on Hon. Moyo, the delegation proceeded to meet with Mr Kayanda at MISA Zambia whereby discussions on the role of the entity were discussed.
Mr Kayanda highlighted the collaborative relationship between MISA Zambia and the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament of Zambia and described that MISA Zambia conducts its own media monitoring and maintains links with a number of sources to identify, document and publicise incidents where freedom of speech and the media has been violated. After the fruitful deliberations between the Sadcopac delegation and Mr Kayanda it was concluded that the media play a key role in providing transparency and the visibility of the public accounts committees and the scrutiny work that they do in the interest of the public.
On April 4, Hon. Gill, accompanied by the deputy Clerk, represented the chairperson of the FPAC, Hon. Sebastien Pillay, at the Governing Council Meeting of Sadcopac whereby they actively participated in discussions surrounding the strategic development of Sadcopac, reviewed audit reports and agreements, as well as discussed matters concerning the programme of activities for 2023/2024.
The delegation pushed for further collaboration with international entities to build the capacity of the SADC public accounts committees in illicit financial transaction investigations. Following the Governing Council meeting the delegation paid courtesy calls on the Auditor General of Zambia, Dr Dick Chella Sichembe and the Zambia Public Procurement Authority, headed by the director general, Idah C. Chella. Both meetings involved discussions on auditing processes, the independence of the Office of the AG, including how the Procurement authority is ensuring compliance with crucial laws and structures.
On April 5 & 6, the delegation participated in the two-day training which was attended by chairpersons and members of the public accounts committees of the different member States of Sadcopac, as well as the committee clerks of the respective committees.
Presentations and discussions touched on conducting oversight on the illicit financial transaction investigations; the functions of the Zambian PAC; and the important relationship between public accounts committees and law enforcement agencies.
After participating actively in the sessions, Hon. Romain commented that “the workshop was very interesting and informative. I was able to familiarise myself on how Zambia's parliament implements its oversight and accountability on public accounts. I managed to network with many other members working on similar FPAC committees and realised that Seychelles’ FPAC is also functioning at a high level in doing its work”.
The delegates heavily discussed the importance of independent institutions and ways to improve their respective parliamentary procedures to strengthen the impact of the public accounts committees. Benchmarking is an important process in Committee work and exchanging best practices and procedures is a critical method for parliamentarians and staff to continuously enhance and develop oversight and scrutiny.
The members present addressed pertinent questions on practices of procurement oversight entities and auditor generals as key stakeholders for the respective public accounts committees. Hon. Gill mentioned that “the training was great given the number of years all these institutions have been in place. It is high time a very serious approach is taken for a comprehensive review. All these institutions are provided for in the constitution, and therefore warrant adequate funds to ensure better productivity to a level that gives confidence to all stakeholders involved, knowing that the public funds are being spent in a more efficient and effective manner.”
Press release from the National Assembly secretariat
