rubber stamp for the government. He requested the CPA to develop a mechanism to assist countries with weak Legislatures by replicating the good stories of Australia and Canada. Deputy Dr David De Garis De
Lisle (Guernsey) noted that the major problem facing parliamentary scrutiny is how to keep scrutiny committees current and having the capacity to deal with issues as they arise because reports are better dealt with when they are current. Hon. Jean Sendeza, MP, of
Malawi stated that the major challenge that face Parliament in Malawi is funding because it lacks financial autonomy. She requested the CPA to devise any mechanism that would narrow the gap in this regard so that Parliamentarians would be able to discharge their duties effectively. Hon. Mussa Zumbo, MP, of
Tanzania noted that Parliament in his country suffers the same funding challenges as other Parliaments. He said that in the case of Tanzania, it is only during budget presentation and consideration that government accords the Legislature any relevance.
Different models Hon. Robert Philip Braidwood, MHK, of the Isle of Man noted that even though his jurisdication’s foreign affairs are handled by the United Kingdom government, the actions and decisions of many international organizations affect the Manx Parliament. The Manx government has
therefore opened an office in Brussels to monitor European Union activities which could affect the island. On the question of scrutiny, he said no Minister is allowed to be
on the House of Keys Standing Committee on Scrutiny so it works autonomously from the executive. Mr Tavish Scott, MSP, of Scotland
said the level of scrutiny of foreign affairs in Australia and Canada would be good models to follow as voters today expect Parliamentarians to be expert in all aspects of government. Hon. Foggo Lovitta, MP, of
Bermuda said her government had accepted four detainees from the United States’ Guantanamo Bay Prison, claiming the domestic authority existed to do so. This was highly controversial in Bermuda and was still being discussed by the American and British governments. Hon. Cornelia Carol September,
MP, of South Africa said her Parliament considers that its constitutional right to scrutinize the executive overrides the executive’s constitutional responsibility for
international relations. It therefore has a Committee of International Relations and Co-operation which gets briefings on and questions policies relating to global issues. She too supported consultations between parliamentary committees in this and other fields. Hon. Moinina Conteh, MP, of
Sierra Leone said her House lacks the resources to scrutinize the executive, including in such “domestic” areas as agriculture where a lot of international aid money goes. Hon. Sayed Ali Moshin, MP, of Bangladesh said his Parliament is not functioning properly because the opposition Members are boycotting sittings. Hon. Dato’ Teng Chang Khim,
MLA, of Selangor advocated more CPA seminars to enable Members to exchange experiences to improve parliamentary scrutiny.