Enhancing Parliamentary Transparency in Africa: An Exploration of the Africa Open Parliament Index
About the Parliamentary Network Africa. Written on September, 2022
Introduction
The Africa Open Parliament Index, an initiative of the Parliamentary Network Africa, is a pioneering step towards enhancing parliamentary openness across the African continent. As a robust tool, the index aims to promote and assess transparency, citizen engagement, and accountability within various parliaments. The Parliamentary Network Africa has coordinated this project alongside several civil society organisations, collectively working towards establishing a culture of open governance.
The concept of an open parliament is intrinsic to democratic societies, and the development of this index stands as a testament to the Parliamentary Network Africa's commitment to this cause. The index not only measures the level of openness in each parliament but also provides a platform for understanding and implementing best practices, fostering collaboration, and advancing parliamentary reforms.
The Concept of Open Parliament
Open parliament is an approach that prioritises transparency, civic participation, and public accountability. It signifies a shift towards more citizen-centric governance where legislative decisions and processes are accessible and open to public scrutiny. The Africa Open Parliament Index is designed with this concept at its core, aiming to measure these elements within the various parliaments of Africa.
This initiative involves organisations from across the African continent, including those representing South Africa, Kenya, the Pan-African Parliament, and others. This collective effort also includes a media consortium that provides parliamentary reporting, thereby ensuring a multi-faceted approach to promoting openness in African parliaments.
The Scope of the Africa Open Parliament Index
The Africa Open Parliament Index operates on a comprehensive framework, assessing three fundamental areas of parliamentary function: transparency, citizen engagement, and public accountability. Each dimension is evaluated and scored out of a total percentage, with both transparency and citizen engagement contributing 35% each to the total score, and public accountability making up the remaining 30%. This scoring methodology, influenced by international best practices and principles of parliamentary openness, offers a well-rounded evaluation of parliamentary openness.
Initially, the Index was piloted in West Africa, assessing 13 out of the 15 countries in this region. It is important to note that these findings are indicative of the individual parliaments' performance according to the index at the time of assessment, and not a judgement on the overall functioning of these parliaments.
Key Findings and Recommendations
The assessment of the Africa Open Parliament Index yielded several significant findings. While parliaments were generally found to be reasonably transparent and open to collaboration with civil society organisations, a notable underutilisation of technology for sharing information and data was observed. Additionally, the accessibility of parliamentary committees to the public was identified as a challenge that hinders transparency.
In terms of citizen participation, only a few parliaments managed to score above half of the total score according to the Index. A stark lack of mechanisms to translate parliamentary proceedings into local languages was identified, limiting the accessibility of parliamentary proceedings for non-English speaking citizens. Furthermore, the engagement of the public in the law-making process was found to be minimal.
Public accountability presented another area of concern. A minority of parliaments scored above the halfway mark in this category, indicating potential areas for improvement. Most parliaments were found to be not using electronic voting, highlighting an opportunity for the digitalisation of voting processes to enhance transparency and accountability.
Based on these findings, several recommendations were proposed. First, parliaments should capitalise on the power of technology to improve information dissemination. Second, the adoption of digitalised voting systems can enhance accountability. Finally, continued collaboration with civil society organisations and other partners was recommended to address systemic and procedural challenges and to foster a more open parliamentary environment.
The Role of Parliamentary Network Africa
The Parliamentary Network Africa has been a significant player in coordinating the activities related to the Africa Open Parliament Index. It has played a central role in gathering the consortium of organisations and has overseen the development, implementation, and analysis of the Index. The Network's leadership has been instrumental in ensuring a collaborative and inclusive approach, which has enhanced the overall effectiveness of the project.
The Parliamentary Network Africa has also been involved in the dissemination of the Index's findings, ensuring that the information reaches relevant stakeholders. These stakeholders include not only the assessed parliaments but also civil society groups, the media, and the general public.
Furthermore, the Parliamentary Network Africa has worked towards fostering open dialogue and discussion around the results of the Index. By creating a platform for these conversations, the Network has encouraged parliaments to engage with the findings and consider the recommended areas for improvement. This open approach is consistent with the Network's overall mission of promoting open and transparent parliamentary processes.
Future Scope and Conclusion
The Africa Open Parliament Index offers a valuable resource for understanding and promoting parliamentary openness in Africa. While the initial focus has been on West Africa, there is significant scope for this initiative to be extended across the entire continent. The insights gained from the Index provide a clear direction for parliaments, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to work collaboratively towards enhancing transparency, citizen participation, and public accountability.
Moreover, the Africa Open Parliament Index provides an opportunity for parliaments to learn from each other, by identifying and implementing best practices. Parliaments that have scored highly on the Index can serve as models for those seeking to improve their own scores.
In conclusion, the Africa Open Parliament Index, facilitated by the Parliamentary Network Africa, marks a significant step towards advancing open parliament culture in Africa. The Index serves as a tool for assessment, learning, and improvement, supporting the essential democratic principles of transparency, citizen engagement, and accountability. The findings and recommendations of the Index provide a roadmap for future initiatives aimed at strengthening parliamentary openness across the continent. The Parliamentary Network Africa's commitment to this cause continues to pave the way for more transparent and accountable governance in Africa.