PARLIAMENT
Over the next few weeks we will be running a series of articles on parliamentary committees that help to promote accuntability in government and public service.
THE 11th Parliament is expected to end next year, after the completion of General Election 2027.
While there is much to learn about the country’s 118-member legislature, there is one particular system that needs to be given more attention as it plays an important role in scrutinising proposed legislations, conducting inquiries, and overseeing government activities.
Established under Section 118 of the Constitution, the committee system in parliament provides for specific functions when the need arises during a term.
Parliamentary committees are a crucial component of democratic governance, encompassing the set of practices and mechanisms employed by a legislature to scrutinise and evaluate the actions, policies, and decisions of the executive branch. Their function aims to ensure transparency, accountability, and the proper functioning of government institutions.
Parliamentary committees allow legislators to monitor the implementation of laws, policies, budgets, compliance with international agreements, and government programmes through parliamentary committees, parliamentary questions, and parliamentary motions, as well as tools such as hearings, inquiries, and the review of official reports.
This empowers the public—voters and interested organisations—to hold their elected and appointed officials to account.
For PNG, there are at least 39 permanent parliamentary committees that should be performing their functions with due diligence. There are nearly as many parliamentary committees as there are ministries of government. This puts the committees on par with ministries to provide a supervisory role in the dealings of government ministers.
Parliament’s main role is not only to make laws, but also hold the executive government accountable and that is where its committees come in to summon witnesses, take evidence, and investigate matters of national significance. Thus, the importance of parliamentary committees and the work they do cannot be overstated.
Structure of parliamentary committees
A strong, active committee system is an asset in any functioning parliamentary democracy. Parliamentary committees are established through the Constitution, Acts of Parliament, Standing Orders of Parliament or resolutions of Parliament. There are three categories of parliamentary committees – Public Accounts Committee, Standing Committees and Permanent Committees.
Parliament also establish Special Committees with specific functions when need arises during a term. All these committees comprise of groups of Members of Parliament (MP) and are bipartisan in their composition.
These committees can investigate specific matters of legislation, policy, government administration and finance, and conduct site inspections on behalf of Parliament.
Investigations are conducted through committee inquiries where briefings and public hearings are held to provide a forum for investigations into matters of public importance and give MPs the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of pertinent issues.
The findings from the inquiries are presented as reports to Parliament.
Committees further provide an opportunity for organisations and individuals to participate in policy making and to have their views placed on the public record and considered as part of the decision-making process.
A comprehensive system of parliamentary committees provides greater accountability by making the policy and administrative functions of Government more open and accountable.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the Committees Secretariat is the administrative arm of the parliamentary committees. All matters relating to the work of committees at Parliament are handled by the secretariat. The secretariat is responsible for ensuring parliamentary committees perform their oversight and accountability functions in Parliament effectively.
Under the structure of the Parliamentary Services, the Committees Secretariat is located within the Chamber Services and reports directly to the Office of the First Clerk Assistant, the Deputy Clerk-Chamber Services, the Clerk and the Speaker of Parliament.
The secretariat is tasked with the responsibilities to provide research, administrative and procedural support to the parliamentary committees, which include:
- ORGANISING meetings, briefings, public hearings, inspections, forums and the committee’s travel arrangements;
- CONDUCTING or arrange research for committee inquiries;
- PROVIDING briefings for public hearings, forums and study tours;
- DRAFTING of committee reports;
- PROVIDING advice on parliamentary procedures and the conduct of inquiries;
- ACTING as a contact points for information about the committee and its work; and
- ENSURING good working relations with other divisions that support the work of committees.
The Permanent Committees Division provides procedural and secretarial support, advice and administrative support to the Permanent Parliamentary Committees to perform their constitutional functions.
Among the division’s objectives are the provision of research and procedural and functional advice for committee chairs and members as well as the committee secretary.
The division also provides administrative, secretarial and logistics support to the parliamentary committees as well as planning and conducting committee meetings.
Training is another key objective and the division facilitates and coordinates training programs for committee members and committee secretariat staff to ensure the delivery of quality committee work output.
Work of committees
In this 11th Parliament, several committees have been actively at work to perform their mandated roles and functions. Most recent was the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) with its inquiry into the much-touted K20 billion Connect PNG programme of the Government.
Section 216 of the Constitution provides for the functions of the committee. Its principle function is to scrutinise and report to the National Parliament on the public monies and property of PNG; including any matter it deems is of national importance.
The PAC also finds its jurisdiction to inquire into expenditure of ‘public monies’ in Section 86 of the Public Finance (Management) Act 1995 and Section 17 of the of the Permanent Parliamentary Committees Act.
The PAC additionally conducts inquiries into other matters following on from matters arising naturally from primary lines of inquiry.
The current committee chairman and Talasea MP, Freddie Kumai, led the proceedings of the inquiry conducted in February at the Parliament House in Port Moresby. Kumai tabled the committee’s report with its findings in Parliament on March 12.
Be that as it may, some committees have been left out of the limelight for some time now. Take for example the Permanent Parliament Committee on Plans and Estimates chaired by Wosera-Gawi MP Joseph Yopyyopy. He told Parliament last December that his committee has never been consulted in the past three years on the budget processes despite it being a requirement under Section 209 of the Constitution.
The National Executive Council (NEC) is required to consult with the committee, in accordance with section 209 (3) of the Constitution, prior to the council preparing any budget or appropriation for submission to the Parliament, though, this subsection does not confer any right or impose any duty of consultation after the initial stages of the preparation of the budget or appropriation.
“It is essential to recognise that the Government must consider the views of stakeholders, including the plans and estimates committee,” Yopyyopy said.
“It is the opinion of the committee that the NEC has neglected its obligations to uphold Section 209 of the Constitution.”
This admittance by a committee that is supposed to be an integral part of development planning for the country, should come as a wake-up call for many. And as the voters prepare to go to the polls next year, the efforts of the Special Parliamentary Committee on General Election 2022 must not be forgotten.
Committee chairman and East Sepik Governor Allan Bird had presented a 100-plus page report to Parliament on Nov 30, 2023. The committee’s report outlined 70 recommendations, with 28 needing immediate implementation before the next general election. To date, this report has yet to be debated and endorsed by Parliament.
With less than a year to go before General Election 2027, one can only wonder what will happen if some of the committee’s recommendations are not actioned.
There is also the Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Communications which conducted a two-year inquiry to examine the state of journalism and recommend ways to develop the media industry to protect democracy. Committee chairman and Wau-Waria MP Marsh Narewec, who tabled the report in Parliament on March 20, said the inquiry revealed flaws in the standard and integrity of journalism which must be improved – with 40 recommendations.
Each of these committees (and more), including their reports tabled in Parliament over the years, will be further discussed in the coming weeks.
Henceforth, with parliamentary committees being a crucial cog in the engine of the country’s democratic process, it is just as important the people understand their roles and responsibilities so as to participate and contribute to national development.
Next week: Special Parliamentary Committee on Health Matters
