EMPOWERING THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE DEALING WITH PAC REPORTS AND FOLLOW UP BOTSWANA EXPERIENCE SADCOPAC TRAINING OF PAC MEMBERS 14 TH - 16 TH OCTOBER 2013 MASERU, LESOTHO Presented by Hon N.M.Modubule, Chairperson of PAC, Botswana Parliament 1

What does the oversight function of Parliament aim to achieve? In discharging its oversight function, Parliament appoints oversight committees one of which is the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The central point of departure for the work of the PAC is the principle of policy neutrality. The committee does not concern itself with the underlying policy that informs public spending, its interest is in whether policy is implemented efficiently, economically and effectively. Its main objective is to see that public monies are applied for the purposes intended by Parliament when it approved the budget; that extravagance and waste are minimised; and that sound financial practices are encouraged in estimating and contracting and in administration generally. 2

How does the Committee achieve its mandate? As is the case in the majority of democratic regimes which believe in transparency, the PAC in Botswana is chaired by the opposition which is a manifestation of the commitment to the non-partisan tradition that underpins the work of the PAC. The work of the PAC is dedicated to dealing with the Auditor General’s reports as already indicated by an earlier presenter. It is worth noting that the success of the PAC depends to a large extent on the quality of the AG’s reports and the success of the AG also depends on the effectiveness of the PAC. 3

In Botswana, the AG and PAC made an arrangement whereby the AG attached one of his senior officers to provide on the ground support to the PAC. This arrangement is working very well. After receiving the AG’s report, hearings are the principal mechanism by which officials from government departments and agencies answer to the Committee. As a way of enhancing transparency, the hearings in Botswana are held in public. In order to ensure quality of hearings, Accounting Officers are informed well in advance of the hearings to give them chance to prepare themselves. 4

Reporting PAC holds one session annually to examine the accounts of all ministries and departments. In the course of the hearings, the Committee will be noting down any important findings from examination of each Accounting Officer. Once hearings are completed, the Committee clerks with the assistance of the PAC Chairperson, draft the report which covers all ministries and this is published as promptly as possible after the hearings. The PAC report is otherwise the main tool of the Committee. The effectiveness of the Committee is achieved through this report. It is therefore critical that the report should be powerful, with strong findings and recommendations which should be able to provoke debate in the House. It is very important that the Committee must have consensus on the findings and recommendations which has always been the case in Botswana. 5

Dealing with reports Policy-neutrality mandate and stance of the PAC facilitates inter-party cooperation which is another fundamental feature of PACs. It is critical that as a committee there must be unanimity in decision making and reporting. There must be consensus in whatever the committee is doing. During debate of the PAC report in the House, the Committee has to be seen as a unit in supporting and defending its findings. Cross-party support adds to the strength and impact of the report. Where party-political divisions undermine the cooperative spirit, the effectiveness of the Committee and even the entire audit process can be jeopardised. 6

The PAC is a representative of Parliament. The report it produces is addressed to Parliament. It is therefore critical that the report is accepted and adopted by Parliament before it can be implemented by the Executive. In the case of most of the African parliaments where ministers are also part of the House, there will always be a lot of resistance from the Executive. They would endeavour to frustrate adoption of the report especially if it contains thorny issues. This is where the unanimity of the Committee becomes paramount. Once adopted by the House, the report becomes the report of Parliament and the Executive would be expected to implement the recommendations therein. 7

When making recommendations in its report, the Committee must always bear in mind that these are supposed to add value to the entire resource management of the country. Parliament is part of the machinery of accountability to the nation and whatever it is doing is geared towards improving management of public resources. Therefore even if there is no legal instrument which forces the Executive to implement PAC recommendations, they would implement them if they see them to be value adding. Media coverage during hearings and when the PAC report is debated and adopted is one of the tools to enhance the effectiveness of the Committee. Unlike in other countries where the Civil Society Organisations are quite active, in Botswana these are not that active as yet in exerting pressure on the government with regard to PAC recommendations. 8

The oversight function can only be effective if it has the power to ensure that its findings and recommendations are implemented. In most PACs this is the weakest link in the whole accountability chain. In Botswana, there is a committee called Foreign Affairs, Defence, Justice, Security and Government Assurances which follows up implementation of recommendations adopted by the House. Due to media publicity of PAC proceedings and reports, the public has started showing interest in the work of the Committee. 9

Conclusion The PAC has an undoubtedly important role to play in the accountability process and does contribute to government’s accountability for the use of public resources. However, it should be appreciated that it is difficult to measure the amount of contribution it makes. The general effectiveness of the Committee is something which is not easy to identify i.e. to be able to tell whether the government is more accountable as a result of the Committee’s work. It should be appreciated however that even though the government may not come out clear to give the Committee credit for some of the changes it makes, by implementing the recommendations of the Committee, it is acknowledging the contribution of the Committee to the improvement of accountability in the public service. 10

Thank you for having given me this wonderful opportunity to contribute in my small way towards empowering my fellow PAC members in the mammoth task of enhancing accountability in their respective governments. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!!!!!!!!! 11