PAC RETAINING

INDEPENDENCE FROM GOVERNMENT

SIERRA LEONE EXPERIENCE

INTRODUCTION

There is a global trend towards greater openness in government finances. This is based on a belief that transparent budgetary practices can ensure that funds raised by the state for public purposes will be spent as promised by the government, while maximising the benefits derived from spending.

One crucial component of a transparent system of resource allocation involves an independent assurance of the integrity of public budgeting through an audit process, and the scrutiny of its outcomes by the representatives of the people, in the form of Parliament.

The powers/independence of the Public Accounts Committee emanated from the Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No. 6 of 1991 which states as follows:

SECTION 93 (1)“At the beginning of each session of Parliament, but in any case not later than twenty-one days thereafter, there shall be appointed from among its members the following Standing Committees, that is to say .........

THE POWERS/INDEPENDENCE OF PAC

- FINANCE COMMITTEE;

- COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS &

PUBLIC SERVICE;

- THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

COMMITTEE;

- PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE;

AND

- OTHER SELECT COMMITTEE ETC

For the purposes of effectively performing its functions, each of the Committees shall have all such powers, rights and privileges as are vested in the High Court at a trial in respect of

a. enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath, affirmation or otherwise;

b. compelling the production of documents; and

c. the issue of a commission or request to

examine witnesses abroad.

SECTION 94Subject to the provisions of this Constitution Parliament may regulate its own procedure, and may in particular make, amend and revoke Standing Orders for the orderly conduct of its own proceedings

SECTION 95 Any act or omission which obstructs or impedes Parliament in the performance of its functions, or which obstructs or impedes any Member or officer thereof in the discharge of his duties or affronts the dignity of Parliament, or which tends either directly or indirectly to produce such a result shall be a contempt of Parliament.

SECTION 96Where an act or omission

which constitutes contempt of Parliament is an offence under

the criminal law, the exercise by Parliament of the power to punish for contempt shall not be a bar to

the institution of proceedings under the criminal law.

The PAC is empowered to examine the annual accounts of

Government together with the report of the Auditor-General

thereon. Under the Government Budgeting and Accountability Act

2007, the Auditor-General is required to submit to the

Parliament a report following the end of each financial year. The Act also empowers the Auditor-General

to submit “a special report” in certain circumstances.

Terms of Reference

This is in accordance with Section (70) sub-section (6) of the Standing Orders of the Sierra Leone Parliament which states:

(a)There shall be a Committee to be known as the Public Accounts Committee

consisting of the Deputy Speaker as Chairman and not more than ten other Members, to be nominated by the Committee of Selection.

(b) It shall be the duty of the Committee to examine the annual accounts

showing the appropriation of the sums granted by the House to meet public expenditure together with the reports and special reports of the Auditor-General

thereon.

(c) The Public Accounts Committee shall, for the purpose of discharging that duty, have powers pursuant to subsection (6) of Section 93 of the Constitution.

(d) The Public Accounts Committee shall have power to examine any accounts or reports of Statutory Corporations and Boards after they have been laid on the Table of the House, and to report thereon from time to time to the House, and to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of Parliament.

(e) Without prejudice to paragraph (d) the Select Committee overseeing the supervisory ministry of a parastatal may include that particular parastatal within its mandate

(f) The quorum shall be the Chairman and five Members.

The Relationship with the Auditor General  The relationship between PAC and Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) is responsive. The PAC is the primary audience of the auditor general, and it is vital that a cordial relationship is always maintained between the two. While the PAC depends on high quality audit reporting to be effective, the auditor general in turn requires an effective PAC to ensure that departments take audit outcomes seriously.

All reports of the Auditor General are addressed to the Clerk of parliament, and the Auditor General or a senior representative will attend the sittings of the PAC. In some cases, the PAC can request the Auditor General to conduct a specific verification, and the Auditor General has no discretion and must do so.

The Relationship with the Executive

On the premise that the PAC is not to question the policy underlying spending decisions impacts on who the committee holds to account. The normal legal construction is that a minister is the political head of a department, whereas a Permanent Secretary or Director General is the administrative head of a department. While the former requires policy direction, the latter’s function includes responsibility for day to day administrative and financial matters. The administrative head of a department normally signs the accounts of the entity in her or his function as accounting officer.

One practical consequence of this is that the work of PAC traditionally focuses on interrogating the administrative head instead of the minister, as the task is not to scrutinise the political direction and leadership of the department in question. This is reflected in the fact that 97 per cent of PAC’s summonses are for departmental officials ( Financial Au, while 3 per cent indicate that ministers are normally summoned (In the case of Value for Money/Performance Audit).

The Relationship with other Committees

This is a developing area. Traditionally, in Sierra Leone, there has been great interaction between the PAC and other committees [Finance and Transparency Committees respectively]. Some Committees recommend that Sessional Committees should scrutinize audit reports that directly relate to their portfolios, and in particular value for money reports. This would inject relevant expertise into the audit process in parliament, which the PAC is often lacking.

In turn, sessional committees might benefit from more intimate knowledge of the audit outcomes with regard to their respective departments. Some advocates (MPs) also argue that scrutiny can be enhanced by involving sectional committees, as audit reports would get more attention than the PAC, by itself, can give them.

The Membership Composition and Size of the PAC

In the majority of parliaments, and as tends to be the case in most other committees, the proportion of government and opposition members reflects the proportions in the house. However, whether this is possible also depends on the total size of the committee, and the number of parties represented in the house. It has 11 members [6 majority party, 4 minority party and a Paramount Chief].

The Role of the Chairperson

The chairman has to ensure the smooth and effective running of the Committee. In particular, PAC chairman is responsible for setting the Committee’s agenda, usually in consultation with the Committee and the Auditor General. The latter should be able to indicate the flow of reports to be released, which should allow the Committee to plan ahead reasonably well. The Chairman is also crucial in fostering a culture of consensus in the Committee, by steering it clear of party political divisions as far as possible.

The Content of PAC Work

The exact content of the work of the PAC depends largely on what it receives from the ASSL. The traditional focus of public sector management has been on compliance. But the past years have seen a reorientation to a more performance-oriented outlook, which is increasingly reflected in the reporting content of auditors. In addition, the content of PAC work is determined by its institutional capacity.

Resources

Any parliamentary committee should be well resourced in order to fulfill its functions. Due to the technical nature of audit work, this is especially crucial to ensure the proper and effective functioning of the PAC. There is a clerk attached to the Committee and some staff from the Auditor General’s Office for technical assistance. As a third world parliament financial resource is always an acute challenge to the operations of parliamentary committees, most exclusively the Public Accounts Committee.

The PAC does not have a separate budget line within central Parliament budget. Since 2009, the PAC has benefited from uninterrupted sponsorship from a donor pool fund [World Bank, Africa Development Bank and European Union through Integrated Public Financial Management Reform Project in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development] for oversight functions and attending conferences overseas.

Working Practices

There are a number of issues relating to the day to day functioning of the Committee that have to be addressed. These include the rules or conventions that apply to decision taking, the frequency of Committee meetings, sittings being opened to the media, civil society and the general public, and attendance by members is ensured.

Decision Taking

A rigid principle of unanimity in PAC decisions might be an unrealistic requirement, although PAC should strive for consensus decisions to underline the nonpartisan approach to financial oversight. In some cases, when unanimity is not a formal requirement, the committee might sometimes decide to delay a report in order to establish consensus. This is likely to add to the strength and impact of the report, but it may not always be a feasible option.

Openness of Meetings

There is a general trend to facilitate greater transparency in government. PAC hearings are open to the media and the general public. There might be reasons for barring the public in exceptional circumstances, for instances in discussions that relate to a central intelligence agency or highly sensitive defence matters. Generally, there are few reasonable excuses to prevent open access of the media and the general public to PAC sessions.

Internal Organisation

The heavier the workload of a committee, the more urgent becomes the need to enhance its capacity to process work in a timely and effective manner. As individual members have limited time and capacity, this might necessitate a division of labour within the PAC. This has often involved the creation of a sub-committee. These can either be based on the urgency of the subject matter, in which case they might be more permanent. Or they might be formed in an ad hoc manner to address particular issues when they arise.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING CASES FOR PUBLIC HEARING

The following criteria for selecting cases for public hearings are adopted by the Committee without any Central Government interference:

When a query is considered satisfactorily answered, auditee is discharged;

When a query is considered partially answered and without adequate documentation, verification by the Audit Service is required;

When a query is badly answered and requires further probing the auditee is invited to testify before PAC in public;

When there is no response at all, the auditee is required to appear before the PAC in public to explain their inability to respond to the management letter from Audit Service and the query from the PAC. If responses are adequate, but the nature of the problem is such that PAC prefers to highlight it for the attention of all institutions working to secure judicious application of public resources, the auditee is invited to explain actions and inactions before the Committee and for the benefit of the public and other MDAs.

Finally, the independence of PAC is always maintained and retained. However, certain underlying principles may sometime be compromised to ensure that a good working relationship with the Executive and Judiciary is maintained.

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