Weak oversight in Parliament
NIA report blames ‘fusion of power’ for shortfall in executive, legislative surveillance
Published:Thursday | October 5, 2023 | 12:11 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
Governance watchdog National Integrity Action (NIA) is calling for a greater separation of powers between the executive and legislative arms of government, noting that the “fusion” that exists has “significantly debilitated” parliamentary oversight.
Further, NIA said surveillance is in urgent need of improvement.
The conclusion follows the body’s assessment of parliamentary oversight in Jamaica under the SANCUS Project.
The project, strengthening accountability networks among civil society, was sponsored by NIA’s parent organisation, Transparency International, and funded by the European Union.
It was undertaken in 26 countries.
Founding director of NIA Professor Trevor Munroe noted four areas of concern, which the SANCUS Project has indicated, have impacted parliamentary oversight.
Munroe said the tabling and answering of parliamentary questions has been a shortcoming of the House of Representatives, noting that in the parliamentary year 2021-2022, members of parliament tabled 21 questions.
Of these, 12 were answered within the timeframe required by the Standing Orders.
Also flagged was the tabling and debate of private members’ motions, which, over the same year, four were tabled in the Senate and debated. One was tabled in the Lower House but was not debated.
Equally, two private members bills, including the banking standards bill tabled by Fitz Jackson, were tabled but neither was debated.
NO CODE OF CONDUCT
Munroe also pointed to the absence of a code of conduct for parliamentarians, noting that this code was promised in Jamaica’s bipartisan 2009 National Development Plan – Vision 2030.
“It’s important to note that a code of conduct will lay down the principles which will underpin desired behaviour of parliamentarians and provide a means of imposing sanctions for deviant conduct,” Munroe said.
This, he said, would enhance public confidence in the Parliament and provide detailed rules in regulating specific aspects of behaviour.
Rules, he added, should include those governing conflict of interest and behaviour, which brings the Parliament into disrepute.
“Of the three co-equal branches of Government, the judiciary has guidelines for conduct, the executive has guidelines for conduct. The Parliament has none,” he said.
Munroe said NIA’s overall assessment is that parliamentary oversight of the Executive requires more operationalisation of the principle of separation of powers between the Executive and the Legislature.
“Put another way, the fact that MPs are also ministers/members of the Cabinet and that those who are not very often aspire to the Cabinet – at least on the Government side – leads to a joining or what political scientists call a fusion of power.
“This fusion undermines the principle of separation of opwers and thereby weakens the oversight capacity of the Parliament,” said Munroe.
He said that while having no parliamentarians in the Executive would challenge a basic defining property of the parliamentary system, NIA’s view is that the effectiveness of parliamentary oversight would be enhanced within the parliamentary democratic system by two things.
First, a limit on the number and/or proportion of parliamentarians that the prime minister can appoint to the Executive, and second, a standing order mandating the chairmanship of sessional select committees providing oversight of the Executive, ministries, departments and agencies be held by opposition members of parliament – where the make-up of the parliament makes this feasible.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The NIA has put forward several recommendations, including stricter observation and enforcement of the Standing Orders, requiring answers to questions tabled by MPs.
The entity also wants an amendment of the Standing Orders to indicate a time within which debate of private members’ motions and bills should be taken.
It is also asking for limitation on the percentage or number of members of parliament who can be appointed to the Cabinet.
Standing Orders to allow additional sessional committees to be chaired by opposition MPs where feasible are also being recommended as well as more consistent inclusion in legislation of the requirement for post-legislative review are also being suggested.
Finally, NIA wants the adoption of job descriptions, a code of conduct and performance indicators, including sanctions for non-performance in relation to MPs and ministers.
This should also come with the institutionalisation of training for MPs and the Cabinet.