(Wales Branch) Lesotho Link 29 September – 6 October 2007
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Report of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Wales Branch) Lesotho Link 29 September – 6 October 2007 The Orange River which has its source in Lesotho and emerges in the Atlantic as the border between Namibia and South Africa. 1 Report of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Wales Branch) Visit to Lesotho 29 September – 6 October Contents Page Acknowledgements ……………………………………………… .. 3 Summary of Recommendations ………………………………….. 4 Background to the Visit ……………………………………………. 5 The Committee Skills Seminar …………………………………… 7 Visit to Molapo High School, Leribe …………………………….. 12 Meeting with the Irish Ambassador HE Peter Fay …………….. 14 Meeting with Harper Brown, Country Director Sentebale …… 15 CPA Wales Branch Reception ………………………………. …. 16 Visit to Red Cross HIV/AIDS Project, Quthing …………………. 19 Annexes: Annex 1 - Visit Programme A view over Quthing. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Wales Branch would like to thank: • The Hon l Makhaola and The Hon Nlthoi Motsamai Branch Joint Presidents of the Parliament of Lesotho Branch of the CPA for their warm hospitality and their co-operation in making the visit possible; • Ms. L Ramohlanka the Clerk to the Lesotho National Assembly for her support in co- ordinating the clerking skills seminar; • Mr. Dyfan Jones of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Parliamentary Support Team to the Lesotho Parliament for his assistance in co-ordinating and delivering the clerking skills seminar; • The Dolen Cymru Lesotho (Wales Lesotho Link) for their assistance in co-ordinating study visits to Molapo High School and Quthing. The rondavels are still a commonly used form of housing. 3 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The CPA Wales Branch Executive Committee endorses the following recommendations: • That the suggestions and questions arising from the seminar are submitted for consideration by the Speaker of the Lesotho National Assembly (Page 9). • That the Branch considers how it might offer further support in future years to meet the need for continued support to see the nascent committees through their formation towards an established and sustainable future (Page 10). • That the CPA Wales Branch commends the staff and pupils of Cathays High School for their work with Molapo High School and recommend that the project be highlighted as an exemplar initiative to link schools and young people in Wales and Lesotho (Page 12). • That any Welsh Health presence in Lesotho joins the informal grouping of European aid bodies chaired by the Irish Ambassador (Page 13). • That the Branch maintains contact with the Irish Embassy in Lesotho with the aim of monitoring, and where appropriate offering support to, any broad based bids for democracy strengthening work in Lesotho (Page 13). • That the CPA Executive urgently seeks a report on funding of the Quthing project from Dolen Cymru and transmits the current information to the Lesotho Red Cross in Quthing (Page 16). 4 BACKGROUND TO THE VISIT 2. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is an organisation which promotes parliamentary democracy across the Commonwealth. All Assembly Members are members of the Wales Branch which has been an active member of the Association. Assembly Members and officials have been able to participate in events organised internationally and to host activities within the Assembly. These activities have provided opportunities • to share expertise and build productive relationships with other legislatures; • to enhance the Assembly’s effectiveness across the range of its legislative and operational responsibilities by learning from best practice; and, • to promote the National Assembly and Wales. 3. The Wales Branch decided in 2005 that a key element of its strategy should be to develop closer reciprocal links with another parliament in order to provide a broader programme of sustained activity. In view of the links which already existed between the two nations, and similarities in size, population and electoral arrangements, the Branch Executive chose to seek a long-term reciprocal relationship with Lesotho. 4. In 2005 a delegation from the National Assembly for Wales visited Lesotho to examine the scope for a long term link. Their recommendations were: • that the Branch should work towards developing a strategic focus for the National Assembly’s international relations, building on the existing and emerging links between Wales and Lesotho; and • that a programme of work and study visits at both Member and official level be established between the two Assemblies. 5. Amongst the areas of support for Members which were identified during the visit were: • Capacity building amongst Parliamentary clerks (and committee clerks in particular); • public information and education (a particular challenge in a country with an oral tradition, where 80% of the population do not have electricity); • Members’ library and research support; 5 • the practical issues around separation of legislative and executive components of systems of governance. 6. Amongst the political issues of mutual interest which were highlighted during the visit were: • the role of female Members; • best practice in scrutiny of Ministers; • best practice in subject committees. 7. In July 2007. The CPA Wales Branch sponsored a visit to Wales by the Deputy Clerk to the Assembly, three committee clerks and the Parliamentary Librarian. The group spent ten days in Wales shadowing their equivalents in the Assembly Parliamentary Service. 8. In exploring the potential for a third exchange in 2007 the Lesotho National Assembly’s new committee structure was identified as an area in which the Assembly could assist in providing its experience. The CPA Branch Executive Committee endorsed a proposal to send a small delegation to Lesotho comprising Michael German AM and John Grimes, Acting Head of Committee Services with the following objectives: • Objective 1: Parliamentary capacity building: Offer reflective insight into the operation of the Assembly’s committees; Develop awareness within the Lesotho National Assembly of committee structures and programming using the National Assembly for Wales as a case study in order to enhance knowledge of committee systems in order to ensure that the Lesotho National Assembly’s Portfolio Committees have the capacity to operate efficiently and effectively when they first sit. • Objective 2: Developing awareness of Wales – Lesotho links: Visit examples of development programmes linking Wales and Lesotho in order to increase Assembly Members’ understanding of activities in place and report on issues surrounding the development of further activity. 9. The programme for the visit is detailed at Annex 1. 6 THE COMMITTEE SKILLS SEMINAR 10. The seminar was presented by Michael German, AM and John Grimes, Acting head of Assembly Committees. The involvement of an elected member and an official meant that each issue could be looked at from the different perspectives and seemed to give the participants a useful breadth to the issues. 11. The seminar was attended by 5 Committee Chairs and 17 Deputy Clerks, Committee Clerks, Assistant Clerks and Parliamentary staff members. The mix of politicians and officials enhanced the range and quality of the Lively discussion discussion. 12. The seminar opened with a presentation on the organisation and structure of the National Assembly for Wales as a background to what the Welsh representatives would be saying about Committees. 13. After that, the participants, in groups, considered why a Committee system added value to an Assembly or a Parliament and the benefits and risks that went with it. This was followed by a presentation and discussion on the different types of Committee that one can have, the different ways in which they can be set up, the different roles they can perform and the ways in which one might choose which to adopt in which situation. 14. The next session looked at how a Clerk goes about providing support for a Committee and considered practical ways of delivering the various requirements that are necessary for a Committee to be effective. Participants were given copies of a range of material that had been used in the Assembly in Wales. As well as providing real examples of how Committees had been supported in practice, these also gave them a resource from which they might take examples to develop their own systems. 15. The seminar then discussed the role of the Chair and how this related to that of the other members, to Government Ministers and the Clerk. The first day concluded by returning to practical Clerking skills and looking at how a Clerk might brief the Chairs and Members. 16. One of the issues raised during the course of the day was a question about how one introduced a Committee system – in particular, how one changed an organisation which had no experience of one. In response to this issue the Assembly was able to provide some of the material it had used to brief new Chairs on their roles and responsibilities on their appointment after the 2007 elections. The Chair of the Parliamentary Reform Committee in discussion with Mike German. 7 17. The second day opened with a presentation on the changes in Lesotho from the Hon L Rakuoane, the Chair of the Lesotho Parliamentary Reforms Committee. Following this, and In the light of the previous day’s discussion, it was decided to modify the planned programme and facilitate a series of group discussions on how the Lesotho Parliament might move forward from its present position. The group first identified some of the key practical issues facing the Parliament of Lesotho. 18. Participants were invited to form into five smaller groups, each of which included a Committee Chair as a member and facilitator. This ensured a wide range of views were expressed in each group. The groups raised a number of questions for resolution and also made a number of suggestions as to how the Committees might develop: • Funding. The discussions suggested that the current level of financial support to committees is inadequate and can only support the status quo. A three year rolling budget is required to fully implement the committee system.