Parliamentary Accountability and Good Governance A Parliamentarian’s Handbook www.parlcent.ca www.worldbank.org/wbi Parliamentary Centre le Centre parlementaire Contents OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER ONE: THE ECOLOGY OF GOVERNANCE AND PARLIAMENTARY ACCOUNTABILITY .......................... 9 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 9 The Ecology of Governance................................................................................................................ 10 The Unbalanced Ecology of Governance—and its Costs ................................................................... 11 Parliamentary Accountability ............................................................................................................... 13 Parliamentary Leadership and the Struggle to Strengthen Accountability .......................................... 15 CASE STUDY: PARLIAMENTARY ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOVERNANCE—THE KENYAN EXPERIENCE ....... 19 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 19 The Way Forward ............................................................................................................................... 19 Parliamentary Strategies—Financial Control ..................................................................................... 20 Legal Impotence of Committees ........................................................................................................ 20 CHAPTER TWO: SYSTEMS OF GOVERNANCE AND PARLIAMENTARY ACCOUNTABILITY .............................. 23 Comparing Institutional designs .......................................................................................................... 24 Compelling the government to give account .......................................................................................24 The Importance of Strong Committees ............................................................................................... 26 Holding the Government to Account ................................................................................................... 26 Removing the Government ................................................................................................................. 26 Selecting the Government................................................................................................................... 27 Other Factors Affecting Strong Parliaments ........................................................................................ 27 Strengthening Parliamentary Capacity................................................................................................ 28 CASE STUDY: THE PHILIPPINE SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY .............................. 31 AND INVESTIGATIONS Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 31 Investigating Wrongdoing ................................................................................................................... 31 Some Recent Investigations ............................................................................................................... 31 Sources of Committee Power ............................................................................................................. 32 Committee Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 32 Potency of Committee Recommendations .......................................................................................... 33 No Partisanship ................................................................................................................................... 33 CASE STUDY: SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE AND PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNANCE AND .......................................... 35 PARLIAMENTARY ACCOUNTABILITY IN BULGARIA Division of Powers in Bulgaria............................................................................................................. 35 Overview of Accountability Mechanisms in Bulgaria ........................................................................... 36 CHAPTER THREE: THE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT’S ENVIRONMENT OF ACCOUNTABILITY .............................. 39 A Two Way Street ............................................................................................................................... 39 MPs and Accountability: A Model ........................................................................................................ 40 The MPs Environment of Accountability ............................................................................................. 40 The MP’s Long Reach........................................................................................................................ 41 The MP’s Ultimate Answerability ......................................................................................................... 43 ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE 3 From Theory to Practice...................................................................................................................... 42 CASE STUDY: PALESTINE—ACCOUNTABILITY AND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT ....................................... 47 CHAPTER FOUR: PARLIAMENT AND THE BUDGET CYCLE ............................................................................. 49 Mechanisms for Parliamentary Activism .............................................................................................50 What Stronger Parliaments can Achieve in the Budget Cycle ............................................................ 52 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 54 CASE STUDY: THE BUDGET CYCLE IN CANADA .......................................................................................... 55 CASE STUDY: PARLIAMENT AND THE BUDGET CYCLE—THE GHANAIAN EXPERIENCE ....................................... 59 CHAPTER FIVE: GLOBALIZATION, PARLIAMENTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY .......................................................... 61 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 61 Globalization, Parliaments and Civil Society ....................................................................................... 62 Civil Society: A Key Accountability Force? .......................................................................................... 63 Parliaments and Civil Society.............................................................................................................. 64 Strengthening Parliament-Civil Society Relations ...............................................................................65 CASE STUDY: LEBANON—PARLIAMENTARY INSTITUTES .................................................................. 67 The Lebanese Context ........................................................................................................................ 67 Parliamentary Institutes.......................................................................................................................67 CASE STUDY: GUATEMALA—WHY IS PARLIAMENT IMPORTANT FOR OUR DEMOCRATIC FUTURE?...........69 How to Improve Relations Between Society and Parliament .............................................................. 69 CHAPTER SIX: STRATEGIC PLANNING—A KEY TOOL FOR EFFECTIVE SUPPORT TO PARLIAMENTS .............. 73 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 73 Strategic Planning—A Starting Point .................................................................................................. 74 Planning in a Parliament? Why? .........................................................................................................75 Stronger, More Effective Parliaments ................................................................................................. 78 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE CHANGING WORLD OF PARLIAMENTS .....................................................................81 The Traditional National Parliament ....................................................................................................81 The World-Wide Parliament ................................................................................................................81 Connected to the Outside World .........................................................................................................82 The Impact of Globalisation on Parliaments........................................................................................83 Other Examples of the Impact of Globalization ..................................................................................84 Parliamentary Adaptation .................................................................................................................... 85 The World-Wide Parliament and Globalized Corruption .....................................................................86 CASE STUDY: PAKISTAN WORLD WIDE PARLIAMENT: