By Burnett Munthali
The Centre for Civil Society Strengthening has emphasized the need to build the capacity of parliamentary staff to enhance their ability to support Members of Parliament.
The goal is to improve the quality of parliamentary discussions and strengthen the effectiveness of the lawmaking process.
The organisation’s program coordinator, Mercy Chikadza Machero, made this statement today in Lilongwe during the closing ceremony of a week-long training workshop.
The workshop trained over 20 committee clerks drawn from all 18 parliamentary committees.
According to Chikadza, the training session was designed to strengthen the technical capacity of parliamentary staff.
This would enable them to assist legislators in scrutinizing bills more effectively, engaging in evidence-based decision-making, and carrying out their oversight responsibilities efficiently.
The Centre for Civil Society Strengthening highlighted that the training session addressed key challenges faced by Parliament.
One major challenge is the insufficient technical capacity of parliamentary staff to analyze and engage with complex sector documents.
Another issue is the lack of adequate resources to support the scrutiny of bills and legislation.
Through this training, the organization provided expert facilitation and guidance to help overcome these challenges.
With support from the European Union, Save the Children International Malawi and the Centre for Civil Society Strengthening are working to improve parliamentary processes.
This initiative is being carried out through the Phungu Wanga (My MP) project.
The project aims to enhance the role of Parliament by equipping staff with the skills needed to facilitate more informed legislative decisions.
By strengthening parliamentary staff, the initiative is expected to contribute to a more transparent and accountable governance system in Malawi.
Effective parliamentary support staff are crucial in ensuring that lawmakers have access to well-researched information, leading to better policy decisions.
As Malawi continues to strengthen its democracy, investments in training programs like this will play a key role in improving governance and legislative effectiveness.
