The Houses of Parliament will next week host an international conference aimed at strengthening the capacity of Parliaments to carry out their oversight of public expenditure.  The conference will be held from June 2-4, 2015 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel and is being hosted in collaboration with the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ParlAmericas, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).  Participants will include parliamentarians, experts on legislative oversight issues, Supreme Audit Institutions and professional accountancy bodies from Jamaica and overseas.

The conference aims to strengthen the Legislative Oversight function of Parliaments in order to “foster accountability, transparency, and sustainable development”.  Speaker of the House, Hon. Michael Peart, MP, feels that the conference is timely.

According to the Speaker: “This conference is very important for Parliamentarians because what it will do is enhance the capacity of Parliament to oversee the operations of the government. As you know Parliament carries out three functions: legislation, representation and oversight and we are very weak in the oversight department because of a lack of facilities, lack of resources.  So this conference comes at the right time when we are looking at improving our ability to function as a Parliament.”

At the end of the conference participants are expected to affirm the Declaration for Strengthening Parliamentary Oversight, Audit Institutions, and Audit and Accounting Standards.

By Houses of Parliament
Photo by: JIS Photographer