Supporting The Works of Public Accounts Committees – Strategies for Success Deji Olaore World Bank Institute (WBI)

Parliamentary Committees Meetings  Committees are a Parliamentary or Legislative body’s most important institutional mechanism  The most important and greatest legislative business are conducted at the committee level  The greater the strength of its committee system, the greater the capacity of the Parliament to be an effective initiator of public policy  Committee is the engine room of a Legislative institution.

PAC Business Processes Work Plan After Meetings Preparation for Meetings Conduct of Meetings

Work Plan  During this stage the Chair, Members and Secretariat work to identify the priority of the Committee  Once the priority areas for the next year have been identified, an outline calendar is developed  Secretariat allocates specific activities to months but not yet to specific meetings  Committee Calendar is shared among members and staff

Preparation for meetings  For each agreed meeting/inquiry the Secretariat carries out specific set of activities, which broadly involve liaising with specialist advisors, such as the SAI/AG, to identify witnesses and evidence  Assigning these meetings to specific days  For every meeting the Secretariat will prepare a Notice of Meeting and a Briefing Note

Conducts of Meetings  The purpose of the processes at this stage is to ensure that individual meetings are well organized, allow for effective questioning of witnesses.  Ensures that the Committee holds useful deliberations.  Begin each meeting with a private business session to agree the line of questioning and proceedings  Restrict the number of witnesses at the table to no more than five  End each hearing with a private business session to deliberate on the evidence and decide recommendations and follow-up actions required

After Meetings  The key purpose of these processes is to capture the findings and recommendations of the Committee and to monitor the implementation of the recommendations.  After each meeting a Record of Deliberation/Decision is produced  In order to assess the impact of the Committee’s work it is essential to monitor the acceptance and implementation of their recommendations.

Key Documents  Calendar  Meeting Notice  Meeting Agenda  Briefing Note  Minute of Proceedings  Inquiry Report  Follow-up Reports

Meeting Note and Meeting Agenda 1. Meeting Notice  Provides notice of meeting and date for submission of business proposals or evidence 2. Meeting Agenda  Lists all business to be conducted Resolutions must appear on the Agenda  For evidence sessions:  It provides basic administrative details indicates Evidence in Chief to be considered  Identifies witnesses and gives timeline for each

Briefing Note and Minutes of Proceedings 3. Briefing Note  For all Committee Members  Summary of Evidence in Chief  Identifies key issues  Suggests possible lines of questioning 4. Minute of Proceedings  Formal record of attendance and business conducted  Resolutions must appear in full  Votes recorded if held  This is NOT a transcript

Inquiry and Follow-up Reports 5. Inquiry report  Summary of issues raised during Committee sittings  Record of any findings/Recommendations 6. Follow-up reports  Response of Ministry/Agency to inquiry report  Not just what Committee says should happen but what actually does happen

Final Thoughts on Success Factors  Clarity on the Committee’s roles and responsibilities  An effective PAC meets frequently and regularly  Effective PAC develops a work plan that sets Committee’s priority areas  Set priorities and select important matters to examine  Clerk prepares meeting’s agenda and summary reports to be considered  Circulate the summary report to Members ahead of the meeting  Prepare committee reports/recommendations  Follow up on Committee Reports  Develop capacity within the PAC Secretariat

Thank You World Bank Institute (WBI)