PNAfrica Supports Six PMO Networks with $60, 000
Parliamentary Network Africa (PNAfrica) has issued sub-grants to networks of parliamentary monitoring organisations (PMOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) in six countries in West Africa. The subgrant follows the completion of the first phase of the Open Parliament Engagements and networking in West Africa (OPEN West Africa) project which commenced in July 2021.
The Phase I of the OPEN West Africa project sought to create a platform for PMOs/CSOs working with national parliaments to learn from their peers and share lessons from their work, while collaborating to identify strategies to address them. The project also sought to strengthen national and regional Parliaments using the Open Parliament Index (OPI) to enhance legislative transparency, accountability and inclusivity.
During the Phase I of the project, PNAfrica created networks of PMOs/CSOs and media organisations across the sub-region to equip them with the necessary skills and tools to effectively work with their national parliaments, and also created a parliamentary resource hub to enhance peer-to-peer learning among the PMOs. Each of the networks are being coordinated by local partners who see to the daily administration and coordination of the network’s activities.
The Phase I also saw the creation and launch of the Africa Open Parliament Index (OPI) which helped to assess parliaments in West Africa using the three criteria of Open Parliament; Transparency, Civic Participation and Public Accountability. The full report as well as summarised versions of each countries performance under the three criteria can be accessed in English, French and Portuguese.
PNAfrica with support and funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), has issued subgrants to six PMO Networks – Liberia, Niger, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, and Côte D’Ivoire – in West Africa who have each received a sum of Ten thousand Dollars ($10,000).
The sub grant will help each of the PMO networks to implement a 15-month project that seeks to leverage the findings of the OPI to address the gaps identified in the parliaments and co-create reforms to mitigate these challenges that hinder the advancement of open parliament.
The selected networks will work closely with stakeholders of their national parliaments to co-create open parliament reforms or actions that will ensure that their countries improve their level of openness before the next index assessment period.
PNAfrica is optimistic that through the implementation of these projects the capacity of members of the selected PMO networks would be strengthened and would culminate in the strengthening of their Parliaments which would lead to more open Parliaments.
