Partnering with parliamentary clerks globally to support democracy

“Usually when I tell people I work at the parliament, they think that I take notes like a court reporter.”

Ms Keiba Jacob has been a Procedural Clerk for the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago for more than seven years and she’s been brought into Papua New Guinea (PNG) with other clerks from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, to share her experiences with colleagues in the PNG Parliament.

She’s part of a two-day training seminar facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for PNG’s parliamentary staff in Port Moresby to help them prepare for administering a new government following national elections in July 2017.

Ms Jacob says getting the general public and members of parliament to understand just how crucial parliamentary clerks are is a big challenge.

“In most jurisdictions, the parliament is responsible for approving public expenditure, so the parliament says ‘yes you can spend $50 million a year’, therefore the parliament through the executive is responsible for ensuring that the money they have allowed you to spend is spent in the manner that was intended.

“Parliamentary committees are a check and balance on the executive in a particular area to ensure they do what they are supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it, to make sure the people get value for money. It’s a critical role,” Ms Jacob says.

Roy Trivedy, UNDP Resident Representative and United Nations Resident Coordinator, agrees that committees are the main engine rooms of parliament – where most of its work is done.

“They are significant to all three parliamentary functions - representing citizen interests, legislating and overseeing the executive branch.”

In PNG, there are more than 30 parliamentary committees undertaking considerable tasks and Mr Trivedy says UNDP is providing support to the PNG Parliament to assist it to modernise processes, practice and procedures to promote effectiveness of Parliamentary Committees.

“Our training is helping ensure Parliamentary Committees are properly organised, staffed and resourced to discharge their duties.”

Ms Jacob says the training being offered by UNDP is vital because there are no formal courses available that provide adequate preparation for parliamentary staff.

There are many obstacles to overcome for clerks in PNG, with eight staff responsible for 31 committees.  

The National Parliament’s Acting Manager of Parliamentary Committees, Werner Cohill, says the opportunity to upskill and receive training is more than welcome and will help them make their committees more effective.

“It’s very good training and this is the first of its kind for staff. The workshop sets the stage for staff to look for what they need to do to prepare for the new parliament in August 2017,” says Mr Cohill.

Held at the State Function Room of Parliament in the nation’s capital, the seminar introduced staff to parliamentary committees focusing on functions, powers, procedures and explored issues that govern the effectiveness of parliamentary committees.

 (From L to R) National Parliament’s Acting Manager of Parliamentary Committees Werner Cohill enjoyed learning from his international counterparts during UNDP’s seminar including Ms Keiba Jacob, Procedural Clerk Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.

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Press release