Kenya Hosts Symposium on Training Parliamentary Staff

Parliaments are not composed solely of MPs. Knowledgeable, skilled and motivated staff members are essential for parliamentarians to be able to perform their duties effectively. The National Assembly of Kenya knows this and they are working with the Parliamentary Centre to develop a comprehensive staff training program. The program’s design is based on research, interviews and on ideas that were brought forward at a recent symposium. The Regional Symposium on Parliamentary Staff Training developed training strategies for Kenya and expanded co-operation among the legislatures of East Africa in this area of institutional strengthening.

Mr. Issifu Lampo explains how his organization, the Institute of Policy Alternatives, trained parliamentary staff in Ghana to monitor and evaluate poverty reduction programs.

Sponsored by CIDA’s Democratic Governance Project in Kenya, the Regional Symposium on Parliamentary Staff Training took place in Nairobi on the 25th and 26th of November, 2004. Symposium participants comprised five Kenyan MPs, including the Deputy Speaker, senior parliamentary staff from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, including three Deputy Clerks, heads of department from the Kenya National Assembly, representatives of training institutions in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, and various development partners. Through a combination of plenary discussions, formal presentations and small-group brainstorming sessions, participants shared experiences, highlighted best practices, and evaluated a mix of training options for parliamentary staff.

Modes of delivery that were analyzed included:

• Distance learning methods;
• Mentoring / internship programs;
• Short training courses;
• Formal education;
• In-house seminars; and
• Attachments to other parliaments.

It was agreed among participants that any training strategy adopted by legislatures ought to be gender-sensitive. That is to say, it should accord with an inclusive gender policy, sex-disaggregated data should be compiled, and the unique life experiences of women should be taken into account in the development of the strategy.

Brainstorming training strategies, left to right around the table, are Deputy Clerk Werunga ( Kenya), Deputy Clerk Kaija (Uganda), Dr. Ludeki Chweya (University of Nairobi/ Parliamentary Centre) and Mrs. Gemma Mbaya (Kenya Institute of Administration).

The Parliamentary Centre will continue to co-operate with the National Assembly of Kenya in designing a training program that is tailored to the latter’s needs. The program will soon be shared with development partners. Implementation is planned to begin in the late spring of 2005 and to continue for at least the next three years, during which time it will be crucial to gauge the impact of the program on the work of MPs. To this end, a feedback mechanism, similar to the Parliament of Uganda’s MP Satisfaction Index, will be put in place.

As East African governments accelerate the pace of regional integration, new areas for co-operation are opening up for the region’s legislatures. Senior staff from those represented at the symposium acknowledged that there was much they could learn from one another in developing the capacity of their respective institutions. Already, an East African Parliamentary Institute is being formed. From auditing accounts to drafting legislation, the services that staff members provide directly affect the duties that Members of Parliament perform on behalf of the people of East Africa.