Legislative oversight and economic governance in Namibia: An evaluation of the role of parliament in the budget process.

Abstract

The research focused on legislative oversight and economic governance in Namibia by evaluating the role of Parliament in the budget process, namely consultations, formulation, debate and approval, implementation and auditing and assessment. The research therefore examined the work of Parliament and its Standing Committees in the budget process and established the problems that were being encountered in particular since 1995 when Parliament adopted a report on the report on the Agenda for Change was adopted which made several recommendations on the reforms that Parliament needed to undertake in order to become more effective. The research looked at the internal and external factors that affected Parliament’s role in the budget process. Thus specific questions related to the role of Parliament in the budget process were answered. These were related to whether Parliamentarians have the relevant skills, capacity and necessary support services to enable them to play an important role in the budget process; whether the Ministry of Finance and other Government Ministries and Departments were providing Parliament and its Standing Committees with comprehensive, accurate, appropriate and timely information on budget related issues and whether the legal framework in Namibia adequately empowered and facilitated Parliament to exercise oversight in the budget process.