The Southern Africa Development Community Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (SADCOPAC) in collaboration with the House of Representatives of Zanzibar and the Office of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) hosted Governing Council Meetings and a two-day training from 15th – 19th April 2024, in Zanzibar. The sessions organized were attended by the Chairperson of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) Hon. Sebastien Pillay of whom headed the delegation and Hon. Georges Romain as a Member of the Committee.
They were accompanied the Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly, Ms. Alexandria Faure, who also serves as the Secretary to the Committee. The main purpose of the workshop and meetings, was for members of Public Accounts Committees (PACs) in the SADC region and parliamentary officials supporting PACs to enhance the skills and knowledge in parliamentary oversight, also serving as a platform to empower members and officials with the necessary tools to facilitate robust oversight processes in their respective jurisdictions.
On Monday 15th April, the delegation comprised of Hon. Romain and the Deputy Clerk, attended the Governing Council meeting which involved scrutinizing the budget of the organization, the creation of sub-committees to address pertinent matters as well as other discussions surrounding the strategic development of SADCOPAC. The delegation then participated in a courtesy call on the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Zanzibar Hon. Zubeir Ali Maulid at the Parliament building. The Speaker welcomed the Members of the SADCOPAC to Zanzibar and highlighted the importance of PACs in ensuring the efficient expenditure of public funds and its influence in promoting more transparent and accountable governance in a nation. Previously having served as a Member of the Zanzibar PAC, Speaker Maulid placed much importance and prestige to the PACs and wished the Members the best in their deliberations. The Chairperson of the SADCOPAC Hon. Warren Mwambazi reiterated the aims of the trainings, which facilitate mutual assessment among the members, to identify strengths and areas for improvement in oversight practices and encourage a culture of accountability and transparency through constructive peer reviews fostering the sharing of successful oversight strategies and methodologies.
The President of Zanzibar, of whom is also the chairman of the Revolutionary Council, H.E Dr. Hussein Mwinyi was the Guest of Honour and officially opened the workshop during the ceremony on Wednesday 17th April which also included top government officials such as the CAG Dr. Othman Abbas Ali. The presentations and panel discussions in the workshop concerned topics related to the impact of Illicit Financial Flows in Africa; the independence of the Supreme Audit Institutions in the SADC region; oversight on extractive industries; the importance of the relationship between the PACs and the SAIs and the role of PACs in emergency procurement situations such as the COVID-19 Pandemic as a case study. Hon. Sebastien Pillay chaired the session on Thursday 18th April, which involved presentations from the previous CAG of Zanzibar and experts. During the session Hon. Pillay emphasized that parliaments must find ways to protect the interests of the people when it comes to revenue derived from resources.
Whilst participating actively in the sessions Hon. Romain mentioned that “I personally found the training very useful. The opportunity to network with other SADCOPAC members was good as we got to understand their processes and the differences that exist between member countries. An interesting topic that was addressed was on procurement policies within times of pandemics, which members had shared concerns of variations from set procedures.”
The delegates heavily discussed the importance of independent institutions and ways to improve their respective parliamentary procedures to strengthen the impact of the PACs. Benchmarking is an important process in Committee work and exchanging best practices and procedures are a critical method for parliamentarians and officials to continuously enhance and development oversight and scrutiny. The Members present addressed pertinent questions on practices of procurement oversight entities and concerns on the SADC Model law for Public Finance Management. Hon. Pillay mentioned that “The workshop also proved useful in relation to discussions on the SADC Model law on public finance management and the importance of ensuring the independence of supreme audit institutions, in our case the auditor general. It also provided an insight on consolidating oversight mechanisms as they relate to natural resources.”
Editor’s Notes: SADCOPAC is an autonomous and independent association of Public Accounts Committees from SADC states established to promote mutual support; foster the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and experiences; act as a recognized voice of Public Accounts Committees within the SADC community; and promote accountability, good governance, and transparency in the SADC states.
