Introduction

The Committee Department is an integral part of the parliamentary committee system, designed and established to support Parliament in performing its functions of making laws; providing oversight on the Executive’s implementation of public policies and programmes; approving the national budget; and representing the people.

The officers in the Department support and service the parliamentary committees, which have been established by Parliament to conduct oversight on defined areas of Government administration.

Structure of the Committee Department

The Clerk of the National Assembly is the Chief Advisor to all Committees, and is assisted by a secretariat of Committee Department staff as listed below.

i. Director of Committees (Financial Committees)

ii. Director of Committees (Social Committees)

iii. Senior Committee Clerks

iv. Committee Clerks

v. Committee Assistants

Functions of the Committee Department

 i. providing support to committees;

 ii.  preparing and circulating agenda for committee meetings;

 iii. guiding committees on matters of procedure in accordance with the relevant Standing Orders and established parliamentary procedure and practice;

 iv. arranging and ensuring good attendance of witnesses;

 v. arranging visits to be undertaken by committees;

 vi. custody of minutes of committee proceedings;

 vii. managing correspondence between the committees and any appropriate authority;

 viii. preparing reports of the committees; and

 ix. carrying out any other duties as directed by the Clerk of the National Assembly.

Reports produced by the Committee Department

The Department produces various types of reports for presentation to the National Assembly, either for adoption by, or for the information of, the House.

i. Sessional reports

ii. Reports on International Agreements

iii. Reports on Bills

iv. Reports on Petitions

v. Sector Budget Analysis reports

Parliamentary Calendar

There are three meetings in each session of the National Assembly:

In each meeting, the Committee Department has a scheduled set of activities to ensure its functions are effectively carried out

i. Budget Meeting (September to December)

• Constitution of Committees and election of Chairpersons
• Sector budget analysis

ii.  Legislative Meeting (February to March)

• Scrutiny of bills

iii. Committee Reports Adoption Meeting (June to July)

• Presentation of sessional reports for adoption by the National Assembly

Worth noting is that presentation of reports to the House is not restricted to the Committee Reports Adoption Meeting. Throughout the session, the Department ensures that reports are presented to the House.

Committee Department Calendar

To help Committees effectively discharge their functions, the Committee Department manages the sessional programme of work for each committee. The programme of work is the tool that guides how a committee will carry out its mandate in a session in relation the production of a sessional report. In order for the objectives of the programme of work to be met, each committee carries out its work in a session as follows:

January to February -      Long meeting – to receive submissions from stakeholders   for sessional reports

April to June             -      Oversight tours (Local and Foreign tours)

May to June              -      Adoption of sessional reports

The Department ensures that all Committee work is conducted efficiently and effecyively.