Jaevion Nelson | Pay heed to parliamentary support staff

We need to pay attention to the ways in which we budget for the effectiveness of the Parliament. We can’t continue to simply complain about the challenges in this regard without contemplating what ought to be done to enable them to do their job properly.

We must go beyond this idea of giving them job descriptions, because the problem is not that they do not know what they should do. Besides, let’s say they all have job descriptions which include clearly stated deliverables. Will this make them do less road patching and table motions, conduct research, and make more sober contributions to debates about bills instead? I highly doubt that will happen, given that they all at least have money to undertake projects in their constituencies and barely any support to implement their parliamentary functions. Additionally, how will the job description empower us to hold them accountable and measure their performance, if they aren’t necessarily equipped to perform in the first place?

Martin Chungong, secretary general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), argues that “Parliaments are without a doubt essential to a vibrant democracy, maintaining peace, upholding the rule of law and human rights, promoting gender equality, advocating for inclusive politics, increasing economic prosperity and promoting social justice. Accordingly, parliaments must be well structured, resourced and empowered to effectively fulfil their mandate.”

We have had some heated discussions over the last couple of years about increasing their pay and the need for a new parliament building. I believe these are both critical, but I want to focus our attention on something we hardly talk about.

PROVIDE RESOURCE

In 2017, in an article in The Gleaner, ‘Time to budget for Parliament’s productivity’, I recommended that we need to resource our parliamentarians “so they can draft motions, sponsor legislation, and be fully informed about laws and policies that are being discussed, as well as make contributions to the debate rather than doze off until it is time to cast their vote”. We urgently need to recognise that we will continue to have challenges with the quality of their representation if we do not give them the resources to function (more?) effectively.

Did you know, only six persons are employed to provide support to the 84 parliamentarians who, under the Constitution, are expected to “make law for the peace, order and good government of Jamaica”? Thankfully, through a partnership with the UWI, there are three interns, which bring this number to nine, and all of them do not have the same functions.

To better understand the situation, I sent three questions to a contact at Gordon House, and got these responses.

What kind of support is available for parliamentarians to understand and make contributions to the bills being discussed in the House?

Parliamentarians are able to consult the legislative counsel, research officers, staff of parliamentary library and parliamentary interns (UWI) to assist them in making informed contributions. Parliamentarians who are members of the executive may also consult the legal departments attached to their ministries.

What is the total number of personnel available to provide this support?

The research team currently consists of one legislative counsel; one senior librarian; one assistant librarian; one records clerk; two research officers. Through the Houses of Parliament/University of the West Indies Parliamentary Internship Programme, the Parliament also has the services of three parliamentary interns.

What is the role of the legislative counsels, interns and research officers in this regard?

The legislative counsel is responsible for advising parliamentarians, the presiding officers, parliamentary committees, the clerk to the Houses and procedural staff members on proposed legislation at their request. The legislative counsel also conducts legislative research for/on behalf of the president of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives and parliamentary committees. The research officers and interns prepare research papers on any subject area. Staff of the parliamentary library assists members and their aides in using the material (legislation, the Gazette, Hansard, ministry papers, policy documents, etc) housed in the parliamentary library.

QUANDARY

The quandary we find ourselves in is bigger than the absence of a job description. I marvel at the absence of support for our parliamentarians and the deafening silence from them, as well as those in the civil society who focus on good governance and accountability. If ‘strong parliaments are the cornerstone of democracy and essential for development’, then we seem to be in deep trouble. We cannot continue to ignore this. It is to our detriment.

In 2020, 17 laws were passed and assented by the governor general. Between 2014 and 2020, a grand total of 175. The breakdown is as follows: 2014 – 24; 2015 – 34; 2016 – 23; 2017 – 37; 2018 – 20; 2019 – 20 and 2020 – 17. Up to the end of June, 12 acts were passed and assented by the governor general. Can you imagine if all 84 parliamentarians requested the services of the research team at the Parliament? It’d be impossible for them to properly provide them with the information and support they require.

I know it is not in vogue to recommend that they be given more resources, but it is time we champion this, if we want a strong and effective parliament that we can be proud of.

The IPU, in its 2017 Global Parliamentary Report, shares that “Parliament has a unique constitutional oversight function. It is the only actor with a political mandate from the people to monitor the management of the state by the government. Parliamentary oversight is the means by which parliament and parliamentarians, on behalf of the people, hold the government to account between elections. Accountability is the ‘converse process’ through which the overseen body accounts for its choices, actions and decisions. Oversight and accountability are major dimensions of the complementary democratic mandates of government and parliament.”

For all of this to be possible, for there to be a strong and effective Parliament that debates and passes laws and holds the Government accountable, we will need to resource them to do so. Our parliamentarians need more support staff — one for hearing constituents and other’s concerns and recommendations, a project manager for two, an assistant, an administrator to manage the office and administrative functions and, importantly, someone to support their parliamentary duties. But I highly doubt this would be possible. So, at the very least, let’s employ a cadre of parliamentary staff to provide our parliamentarians with the requisite support to do their jobs effectively.

Mr Holness, I reckon this would be a great legacy.

Jaevion Nelson is a human-rights, economic and social justice and inclusive development advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and jaevion@gmail.com or follow him on twitter @jaevionn.