Seychelles hosts 12th annual conference and general meeting of Sadcopac September 7 -11 |08 September 2015
Public accounts committees review their effectiveness
Over 150 parliamentarians, members of public accounts committees (PACs) from 12 Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries are meeting in Seychelles for their 12th annual Sadcopac conference.
During the meeting the PACs will review their roles and effectiveness in their respective countries.
The speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Patrick Herminie, officially opened the conference during a ceremony which was attended by Vice-President Danny Faure, several ministers, parliamentarians, among other distinguished guests.
The conference, which is taking place at the Savoy Resort & Spa, is being held under the theme ‘Creating effective Public Accounts Committee Powers, Practices, Capacity and Emerging Trends’.
Auditors and accountants general as well as representatives of the World Bank and other institutional bodies are also taking part.
In remarks before launching the conference Speaker Herminie said the chosen theme for the conference highlights the significance of PACs in any country striving for democracy.
“We are organising this year’s conference because we recognise the importance of international parliamentary outreach and believe that this conference will offer each one of us the opportunity to enhance our capacity and effectiveness to better hold the Executive to account,” Speaker Herminie stressed.
“The PAC in most countries is a constitutional requirement and its oversight role cannot be over-emphasised,” Speaker Herminie pointed out.
The chairperson of the Sadcopac, Nthabiseng Khunou from South Africa, in her remarks said during the conference delegates will deliberate on issues of critical importance to PACs and these include; the mandate and challenges of PACs, accountability within the tourism sector – the Seychelles experience, capacity and performance of PACs and emerging trends and the role of civil society organisations and the media in enhancing oversight of public resources.
Hon. Khunou said the Sadcopac is proud of its record of achievement and expressed gratitude to the different parliaments as well as other institutional partners for their continued support.
“It is critical to note that the effectiveness of Sadcopac as an organisation depends solely on the ability of member states to implement resolutions taken at such forums. Sadcopac will continue to equip members of PACs with relevant knowledge and skills to better discharge their oversight roles,” Hon Khunou stressed.
She went on to note that for PACs to continue to be effective and successful in their work they need to work closely with other portfolio committees.
“PACs also need to understand that our effectiveness also depends on strengthening partnerships with key stakeholders like auditor and accountant generals, civil society organisations and the media. Corruption being the number one factor that continues to undermine the oversight work of PACs.
We must fight corruption with everything that we have to achieve the 2063 vision for Africa adopted by the African Union,” Hon.Khunou told delegates.
She also called on PACs and their members to demonstrate exemplary behaviour by being more committed to their work and use the conference to consider dynamic ways to bring solutions to current challenges which the Sadcopac as well as the different PACs are facing.
The leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, David Pierre, who is also the chairperson of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC), said the role of such a committee is crucial because it keeps watch on the way government spends public funds, identifies cases of mismanagement, suspected corruption and makes recommendations to government in these respect.
“The FPAC has taken its responsibility to ensure public money is well spent,” he said, noting that the 5th National Assembly has published six reports with two more being finalised.
He said that the key issues in these reports are the various recommendations that are put forward for government actions, noting that the committee also ensures proper follow up on these recommendations.
He added that the Sadcopac conference provides the opportunity for PACs of different countries to share best practices and experience and to learn from each other.
The conference will also follow up on resolutions which were adopted during the 11th Sadcopac conference held in Lusaka, Zambia.
“The different PACs will have to give a detailed report on how they have been carrying out the resolutions of the last conference, how far they are and the challenges they are facing,” Mr Pierre pointed out.
Asked why as the host country the Seychelles’ PAC has chosen to make a presentation on accountability within the tourism sector and share the Seychelles experience, Mr Pierre said it is due to the importance of this sector to our economy.
“A lot of our revenue is generated from this sector therefore it is important for the PAC to ensure that the tourism industry is managed in a way that it generates the maximum benefits for our people and money it generates goes towards development of projects to benefit our people,” Mr Pierre added, noting that the issue of taxes collected from the industry will also be discussed.
Mr Pierre said another key point to be discussed is how to find more effective ways to make governments respond more positively to recommendations submitted to them for action.
“PACs at the conference will seek to come up with more effective ways to exert pressure on their respective governments so they act more promptly on recommendations,” Mr Pierre stressed.
He added that hosting this conference is a big plus for small Seychelles which had fearlessly taken the challenge.
“It is a way to show the people how seriously the FPAC takes its responsibilities and ensure that if it is able to do its work as it should they can guarantee that funds collected through taxes and other sources will be well spent,” Mr Pierre stressed, noting that it is also an opportunity for the people to appreciate the work the FPAC is doing in the National Assembly.