The Beginning of PARP
The 1999 Constitution established the National Assembly which is vested with the responsibility of law making, representation and oversight. From 1999 to 2001, it faced a variety of problems associated with low capacity.
[i] By the year 2000, the National Assembly leadership was confronted with the low capacity of parliamentarians and parliamentary staff viz a viz the executive arm of government in policy development, analysis, budget control and so on. The leadership of the National Assembly was determined to address its capacity gaps largely due to its newness. The leadership consulted with development experts and consequently approached ACBF for assistance. It was at this stage that the idea of PARP was conceived. In 2002, the Executive Board of the ACBF approved a grant of US$2 million to the National Assembly of Nigeria (NASS) for the purpose of establishing the Policy Analysis and Research Project (PARP). The National Assembly of Nigeria (NASS) was expected to provide a co-financing of US$1.324 million during the four-year cycle of the project. However, NASS increased its contribution to US$10 million for PARP phase II.
[ii] PARP I had six specific objectives, namely to: (i) Assist the National Assembly in the tasks of conception, drafting, scrutiny, analysis and passage of Bills; (ii) Play a role in the design, analysis and evaluation of development policies; (iii) Build and consolidate on relevant development issues for utilization in drafting of, and deliberation on bills; (iv) Stock and improve the quality of library information for in-house and public use; (v) Cultivate networking arrangements with relevant organizations; and (vi) Design and coordinate short-term training modules for members and staff of the National Assembly. In order to achieve these objectives, PARP I was designed with six components, viz (a) Institutional Development; (b) Policy Research and Analysis; (c) Training; (d) Consultative Forums; (e) Publications, Documentation and Dissemination; and (f) Networking.
[iii] Backed by a resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives in 2003, PARP commenced program full program implementation in 2004. Despite this late start, however, PARP I, at its close in March 2008 had registered tremendous successes in all aspects of the project components. In areas such as training, the project achieved more than 200% of estimated targets. Indeed, such has been the success of PARP that the National Assembly, in an unprecedented move, provided an unequivocal stamp of approval and satisfaction of the project’s performance by increasing its original co-financing contribution from the projected US$1.324 million to nearly US$9 million over the four year period. The project’s adherence to approved ACBF practices and procedures in financial management and accountability thus earned it the confidence of the Joint Steering Committee, chaired by the Deputy Senate President with membership from both Chambers of the Assembly. Other stakeholders including Directors in the National Assembly also granted approval.
[iv] With the success of PARP 1, the project beneficiary (NASS) submitted a request for phase II funding. NASS provided $10 Million for PARP phase II while ACBF provided US$2 million. The seemingly high total cost must, however, be viewed within the context of the NASS as an institution and its capacity needs. There are a total of four hundred and sixty nine (469) members of the National Assembly with more than two thousand five hundred (2500) support staff. In a single year (2006) alone, more than a thousand (1000) staff members were recruited to join the NASS Service Commission. This situation compares with other African Parliaments where the staff strength is generally below a total of two hundred (200).
[v] The design of PARP II introduced innovations, which resulted from evolving felt needs of NASS. In this direction, specific focus is placed on Committee Strengthening and the production of Official Reports of Parliament, the Hansard. Additionally, PARP works with NASS to provide continuous training for the majority of newly elected parliamentarians. Staff training continues to receive adequate attention as well. As in PARP 1, other components include Publication, Documentation, Policy Research and Studies.
[vi] PARP I disproportionately emphasized training of staff as opposed to legislators. During Appraisal, the Legislators expressed concerns about the need to refocus PARP training programs to provide adequate attention to legislators. The Chairman and members of the Joint Steering Committee were particularly emphatic on this policy direction in phase II. The case for training of parliamentarians was premised on the fact that while it is absolutely crucial to train parliamentary staff in order to enhance their skills, consideration must also be given to the fact that no matter the skills and expertise of supporting staff, legislators themselves require knowledge and competencies that will enable them to appreciate, canvass and clearly articulate arguments and views on the floor of the House. Furthermore, unlike NASS staff, the high turnover of parliamentarians, made it necessary for PARP to focus on the training of a largely new membership in 2007.
[vii] The main objectives of PARP Phase II are to: (i) Build the capacity of legislators and staff through customized training programs; (ii) Strengthen information access in the NASS by maintaining and building upon existing ICT infrastructure in the NASS; (iii) Support effective functioning of legislative Committees in the NASS through targeted capacity building programs for such Committees; (iv) Increase access to information in the National Assembly through support for production of the Hansard (Verbatim Records) and other legislative records such as the Votes and Proceedings and the Order Paper; and (v)Provide legislators with well-researched policy alternatives through policy analysis.
[viii] The strategies through which these objectives were to be attained in PARP 2 remain [a] Training, [b] Policy Analysis and Bill Drafting [c] Research and Studies, [d] Communication, [e] Library and Documentation/publications, and [f] Consultancy. However, there has been a refocus of attention on the following areas where there are critical felt needs for capacity development: Support for Legislative Committees and Oversight functions; Support for Legislative Reporting; Training for Legislators; Enhancing Effective Utilization of Information Technology (IT) Applications and Systems. Annually these programs are delivered through a well-orchestrated and approved work plan.
PROGRAMS
Programs for Parliamentary Staff
The focus on official reporters, legislative committees and committee clerks in training activities would also continue in 2010. Research staff of the National Assembly will also receive special attention so as to enhance their capacity to complement PARP in responding effectively to demand-driven services. Generally, information management skills of official reporters and oversight capacities of legislative committees will continue to be targeted in 2010.
Programs for Parliamentarians
Irked by the poor capacity of 70% new membership of the National Assembly since 2007 general elections and the inadequate budget provisions for training of legislators in 2008, the Joint Steering Committee of PARP facilitated the injection of new budget lines for special training programs for parliamentarians. Consequently, over 100 legislators participated in international training programs and over 1000 in local training programs in 2009. Most of such training programs are in economic management and leadership development. This trend is to be maintained in 2010. Select training institutions such as Harvard and Oxford universities have been earmarked. There will be more local training programs on economic management in 2010.
ICT Interventions
The National Assembly has committed itself to entrenching the concept of e-Parliament in its activities through collaborations with the Global Centre for ICTs in Parliaments and its membership of the African Parliamentary Knowledge Network (both supported by UNDESA).
PARP has been involved in providing support for the Management and the Chambers in designing blueprints for ICT infrastructural development in the National Assembly. PARP commenced a comprehensive upgrade of the National Assembly website in 2009 and will be completed in 2010. Training programs in computer and internet appreciation are planned for parliamentarians and parliamentary staff in order to optimize the use of the various ICT facilities and services in 2010.
Research/Studies
Members of National Assembly require robust information to effectively carry out their legislative functions particularly oversight. In 2010, PARP Experts will continue to focus on study areas such as the 7-point Agenda, Vision 20-2020, Electoral Reform, Constitutional Review, Budget Implementation, and Oversight. However, PARP Experts would reduce their workload in this area and use more of consultants while focusing more on the earlier-mentioned demand-driven services.
Databank
In 2009, PARP published volume 2 of the activities of State Houses of Assembly. A new round of data collection will be implemented in 2010 towards publication of volume 3. In addition, work on the social indicators and National Assembly Statistical Information will continue in 2010 for the production of volumes 1 and 4 respectively.
Documentation
Most advanced Parliaments have invested huge amount of resources in developing libraries as knowledge repositories as informative base for legislative work. The US Congress, for example, has over 30 million of books and documents at the disposal of legislators. In this regard, PARP library has been developing on a limited scale a special collection on parliamentary activities. So far, PARP library has over 3 thousand entries of hard copies, and over 3000 references in e-copies. The 2010 work plan will continue to build on these achievements and intensify its selections in bias of references directly relevant to parliamentary work. The 2010 work plan will also attempt to overcome the problem of non-visibility of the library through intensive publicity and reader mobilization.
Publications
PARP publications have been popularized in the National Assembly and MDAs. These publications have been recognized as very valuable to legislators. In 2010, PARP will continue in the same vein and with enhanced emphasis on the publications of policy analysis, and research/studies outputs. The number of publications is expected to double in the year. Also in 2010, PARP will sustain in-house serial publications such as NJLA, Legislative Bulletin, Social Indicators, National Assembly Statistical Information and the Activities of State Assemblies.
How PARP is Contributing to the Attainment of NASS Objectives
The overall objective of the National Assembly in the context of Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution, is to make laws for peace, order and good governance of the federation or any part thereof. These can be achieved through the ability of the legislature to perform all its functions of law making, representation and oversight effectively. What PARP has been mandated to do is to build the capacity of both legislators and parliamentary staff as well as provide institution-building support services to enable the National Assembly to perform its functions efficiently and effectively. The training programs, knowledge generation and knowledge management functions of PARP are strategic to achieving these functions.
Networking Collaboration
PARP has been engaged in series of collaborative activities with some organizations such as WAIFEM, NDI, World Bank, DFID, Budget Office of the Federation, National Planning Commission, Nigerian Energy Commission, Directorate for Technical Cooperation in Africa, UNICEF, National Bureau of Statistics and some Civil Society Organizations in the areas of policy analysis, budget process, legislative oversight, and committee system in the National Assembly. These collaborative activities involved organizing conferences, seminars, retreats and workshops designed to enhance the capacity of members of the National Assembly and staff to discharge their constitutional role effectively. For the 2010 work plan these collaborative activities will continue in the area of oversight function, to enhance the deepening of capacity building in the National Assembly in order to meet the numerous challenges of our emerging democracy and for the interest of the new members in the National Assembly.
Governance of PARP II
The governance structure of PARP 1, which was a four-tier arrangement involving Project Management; Clerk to National Assembly; Technical Committee and Joint Steering Committee, has been revised in PARP phase II to a three-tier governance structure that excludes the Technical Committee as a standing body of project governance. On matters relating to project Work Plans and other issues that require wider consultation among the Directors in the Administration, the Clerk to Parliament is granted the liberty to constitute ad hoc committees on same. The revised structure is in line with conclusions of the Mid Term Review conducted on the project in 2006, which recommended the adjustment of the governance structure to facilitate speedy decision making process.
Sustainability
Looking into the future, the NASS has put plans in place to transform PARP into the National Institute for Legislative Studies. The expected constituencies of the institute will include the National Assembly, the 36 State Legislatures in Nigeria, National and Regional Parliaments in and outside West Africa. During Appraisal, ACBF was apprised of progress made towards establishment of the Institute. It is envisaged that by the end of PARP II, Nigeria would have taken a giant step in establishing the Legislative Institute to pave the way for sustaining the work currently being done by PARP.
ACBF’s involvement with PARP II is principally motivated by the need to lend a catalytic influence on the running of the project. During PARP I, ACBF monitoring and supervision missions helped to preserve financial discipline and ensured effective project management.
