Parliamentary Committees serve a vital role in parliaments around the world, examining issues in detail through functions that include fact finding, deliberating and conducting oversight. Committees allow legislators to convene over specific issues and seek expertise to create meaningful reform. Building upon the efficacy of committees and parliamentary staff harnesses the strength of legislators in maintaining functional democracies. 

The Gambia saw a historic election that shifted leadership from an autocratic ruler of two decades to President Adama Barrow in 2017. In this new era where voters are expecting democratic governance from their elected leader, the institutions that contribute to meaningful reform are more important than ever. Since the most recent parliament is composed of a majority of new legislators, committees with institutional knowledge are essential spaces for legislators to build upon and advance legislative priorities. National Assembly Members (NAMs), the elected officials in the Gambia, especially those in committee leadership, are keen to create institutional knowledge among members and staff and improve committee functions. The NDI Gambia team currently focuses on programs related to the Access to Information Act, government transparency and accountability, and civil society's capacity to engage in electoral processes. However, there is interest in working more directly with NAMs in capacity building for the legislature. 

At the request of the National Assembly of The Gambia, NDI recently organized a House Democracy Partnership (HDP) technical cooperation visit to Banjul focused on strengthening committee functions. The House Democracy Partnership supports the development of effective, responsive and independent legislatures by leveraging international connections and sharing democratic best practices. 

Recognizing that there is no single model for organizing and carrying out committee functions, NDI brought in experts from multiple countries–the United States, Northern Ireland and Ghana–to share experiences on topics including transitional justice, working with the judiciary, and the relationship between committees and civil society. The different perspectives complemented each other and created a more nuanced projection of how committees might best be enhanced and function in The Gambia. While the U.S. delegates Jamitress Bowden and Elizabeth Hoffman spoke about how committee leadership is decided and how different parties lead committees, Sammy Obeng from Ghana spoke about how the Ghanaian parliament has adapted to a small staffing size by combining committees into issue “clusters.” These different angles allowed for back-and-forth idea generation with NAMs on actions they could feasibly implement. 

As the clerk of the Judiciary Committee for the Northern Ireland Assembly, Caroline Perry was able to give unique insights from a country that is both similar in size to The Gambia and is working towards transitional justice after a period of conflict. National Assembly Members engaged with her on how to work with the Executive branch and build capacity and infrastructure to create meaningful constitutional reform and hold the judiciary accountable. Committees, especially the Judiciary Committee, provide a space for NAMs to work together and use their collective power to engage in actions such as working with the Chief Justice, bringing in community members and private businesses for hearings, and passing legislation that supports truth and reconciliation processes. 

To round out, NDI also made sure civil society was part of this important visit and shared their perspective. Sammy Obeng, the Executive Director of Parliamentary Network Africa (PNAfrica), discussed how civil society organizations and their knowledge and work can be leveraged to help committees reach their goals. Obeng spoke about how civil society can be particularly useful when they put together resources or information needed for policy creation. These resources can assist when the subject-matter specialists who work for committees are overburdened. Although the relationship between NAMs and civil society organizations varies, building this coalition early creates a forum for communication and understanding for the betterment of all Gambians. As one National Assembly Member put it, “Certain things they’ll [civil society organizations] see from the outside that we won’t from the inside. We’re together, all working for the common good.” Members of civil society were present for this part of the exchange and had the opportunity to share their perspectives as well, opening a conversation for NAMs and civil society together on how to serve Gambian citizens best. 

Although civil society can be a strong source of information and expertise, the National Assembly showed strong interest in building the capacity of the staff. Parliamentary staff serve an important role, especially because of the high turnover rate of NAMs. Staff build and hold institutional knowledge that is vital to train new NAMs and keep the important work continuing over different administrations and terms. Jamitress Bowden from BerlinRosen and Elizabeth Hoffman who is the Director for Congressional Affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, both spoke to the importance of committee staff in shaping policy in U.S. committees. They also discussed with NAMs the different strategies for engaging with other parts of the government and what they have seen work in the past in the U.S. NAMs discussed what they could use from the delegation’s experience and how the Gambian context will shape their next steps. 

The program concluded with an action plan and feedback session, wherein participants underscored the utility of the exchange and suggested ideas for follow-up targeted exchanges on retaining institutional knowledge and training staff on specific duties. As a result, Gambian NAMs remained enthusiastic about strengthening their country’s democratic functions by harnessing the power of committees. 

Author: Cimrun Srivastava, Democratic Governance Team

 

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NDI is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization that works in partnership around the world to strengthen and safeguard democratic institutions, processes, norms and values to secure a better quality of life for all. NDI envisions a world where democracy and freedom prevail, with dignity for all.