Bunge-Lenye-Meno-A-Parliament-with-Teeth-for-Tanzania-LAXNNAJ547

A Parliament with Teeth, for Tanzania
maintains that in his constituency of Karatu, elected local authorities
allocated state resources more efficiently than the District
Commissioner appointed by the president.
Mr Cheyo praised the work of the National Audit Office under
Ludovick Utouh, appointed Controller and Auditor General (CAG) in
August 2006. Its annual reports have reached parliament within the
statutory deadline of nine months from the end of the financial year,
and the quality of information has improved. A new National Audit Act
of July 2008 increased the financial and managerial autonomy of the
CAG, on which parliament depends for auditing and analysis. Under
the new Standing Orders, the report of the Public Accounts Committee
(PAC) must be debated by Bunge.
Priorities for reform include:
• More opportunity for parliamentarians to propose legislation
• Completion of a five-year Corporate Action Plan for parliament
• A defined role for parliament in national budget preparation
• A greater ‘challenge function’ in setting spending priorities
• Improvement in the calibre of technical and in-house research
Parallel accountability
The contributors to this paper recognised that the influence on
government of international donors, and notably the Development
Partners Group, may dilute the power of parliament. Dr Slaa and
Mr Cheyo believe parliament has been undermined by donors, although
Mr Sitta argues that this problem has been addressed. All three accept
the right of the executive and donors to negotiate in privacy, as in any
other business transaction.
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