| dc.description.abstract | This Policy Brief examines overlapping mandates among Standing Committees of the 10th House of Representatives and their implications for legislative oversight effectiveness. Since the return to democratic governance in 1999, the committee system has expanded significantly, growing from 72 committees in the 4th Assembly to 199 in the 10th Assembly, including Parliamentary Friendship Groups. While this expansion reflects evolving policy demands and broader legislative participation, it has raised concerns about duplication of functions, intersecting supervisory responsibilities, and clarity of oversight authority. Unlike reform initiatives within the executive branch, the internal structure of the legislature has received limited empirical scrutiny.
The study focused on committees overseeing four strategic sectors (Petroleum, Education, Health, and Security) due to their fiscal significance, policy complexity, and relevance to national development priorities. Analysis of committee mandates, drawn from the House Standing Orders and complemented by key informant interviews, revealed that functional overlaps exist, particularly in the Petroleum, Education, and Health sectors, where multiple committees supervise related institutions or policy areas. The Security sector exhibited fewer instances of overlap, though intersecting responsibilities were still observed. Broadly framed mandate provisions and incremental committee growth without systematic rationalisation were observed to have contributed to ambiguity, administrative strain on MDAs, and occasional duplication of oversight activities.
The research noted that while limited overlap can provide the benefit of multiple perspectives in legislative scrutiny, uncoordinated duplication risks repetitive hearings, fragmented reporting, diffusion of accountability, and increased compliance costs on MDAs. The findings do not suggest systemic structural failure but indicate the need for targeted rationalisation and improved inter committee coordination in areas where overlaps are most pronounced.
In light of these findings, the National Assembly, through the House Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation of Standing and Ad Hoc Committees, may wish to consider the following recommendations:
● Review and streamline existing committee mandates to identify and remove functional overlaps. Where multiple committees supervise related ministries or agencies, consolidation should be considered to improve coherence and reduce administrative burden. The review may also determine where issues can be better managed through temporary ad hoc committees rather than permanent standing structures. This approach will enhance flexibility while ensuring that standing committees retain focused, non-duplicative mandates.
● Develop a formal coordination framework to promote collaboration and communication among committees with related mandates. This mechanism may include shared oversight calendars, regular coordination meetings, and the designation of lead committees for cross sector issues. Such an arrangement can prevent repetitive oversight activities, promote the exchange of information, and produce more coherent oversight reports.
● Introduce a centralised digital oversight management platform for recording committee activities, reports, and executive responses. This system can enhance institutional memory, prevent multiple committees from issuing identical requests to MDAs, and strengthen follow-up and accountability tracking.
● Review the Standing Orders to clearly delineate the scope of each committee’s functions, specify procedures for handling overlapping issues, and formalise conditions under which joint oversight may be conducted. Codifying these provisions will establish a legal and procedural basis for coordination, ensuring efficiency and predictability in legislative oversight.
● Institutionalise continuous capacity-building programmes for committee clerks and secretariat staff, focusing on coordination practices, communication management, data sharing, and collaborative reporting. Strengthening capacity at this level may support effective inter-committee cooperation and ensure oversight processes are evidence-based and well-coordinated.
By implementing these measures, the House of Representatives can further enhance oversight coherence, reduce duplication of effort, and strengthen the effectiveness of its constitutional mandate in governance. | en_US |
