Parliaments in many African countries are undergoing a phase of change in their practices and processes. In some cases the emphasis is on enhancing the performance of internal administrative structures. In others it is to achieve the goal of inclusiveness in legislative processes. In others it is to transform the practices and procedures of the institution. In almost all the cases, the goal is to move from being rubber stamp institutions to effective governance institutions. In others, the goal like in the Scottish Parliamentary reform is that Parliament should not be a replica of the Westminster Parliament but should be grounded in the culture and traditions of the people.

 

The Namibian Parliament commenced its reform process in 1995.The focus was on strengthening the legislative structures and the institutional capacity of both Houses. The process also sought to strengthen the linkages between the citizens and their representatives. One of the main outputs of the programme was the translation of the handbook on the national budget into local languages, the formation of a woman’ s caucus and improved  media coverage of Parliamentary proceedings.

 

In Malawi, the parliamentary reforms sought to enhance its legislative functions, and strengthen the representative functions of  Members of Parliament (MPs).The reforms have resulted in the strengthening of the committee system, introduction of public hearings to mention a few.

 

In Kenya, the Parliamentary reforms sought to reaffirm the role of Parliament in the governance processes. A parliamentary service commission has been formed. The information delivery system has been strengthened to assist MPs with their information needs. The Government has allocated financial resources to assist the MPs projects in the different constituencies.

 

In Zambia, the reform process seeks to enhance the ability of Parliament to fulfill its constitutional mandate. The focus is on (among many other objectives) strengthening the committee system, and enhance the representative role of the MPs through the establishment of constituency offices.

 

The Parliamentary reform in Zimbabwe sought to reform the practices and procedures of the institution including the dress code. It also sought to educate the public about the role and functions of Parliament.  The public now has access to committees. A new system of committees was put in place to shadow various government Ministries. A budget committee was formed to monitor government expenditure.

 

The Parliament of Lesotho has recently adopted a motion to form a parliamentary reform committee. These are a few examples of Parliamentary reform in Africa. Despite these efforts by Parliaments in Africa to progress towards democratization, there is no systematic documentation of these processes. The Center for Governance in Africa (CGA) is compiling a database of these processes. The CGA has and is still directly involved in some of the reform processes, e.g., in Zambia, Lesotho and Kenya.