A systematic check and balance system is required in the parliament to check the reliability of performance reports of government offices, scholars suggest.
Sisay Assemrie, Assistant Professor of Political Science at University of Gondar, argues that the government should establish an independent authority with a duty of cross checking the reports and the real performance of the sectors on the ground to avoid faults.
He also added that the media should investigate into exaggerated report, which will also cause unreliability of information released from government’s offices. The Parliament must develop parameter to evaluate whether the report is exaggerated or not.
As enshrined in the constitution, the society has the right to get the necessary, reliable and balanced information about the performance of government offices, he noted.
“Yet, most of the ministries’ reports presented for the parliament are often exaggerated and distorted, which can be considered as violation of the right to getting information. As a result, the ministrial offices need to give proper attention for what they perform and report.”
Seifu Gebre-Mariam, Legal Advisor for the Speaker of House of Peoples’ Representative, told The Ethiopian Herald that there is some check and balance system that evaluates the truthfulness of the reports presented for the parliament despite the limitation on the performance.
“Each public sector compiles performance report using similar format but in different ways. Subsequently, there should be parameter for the structure of the national data presentation system that enables to counter check the reports presented by the public service offices so as to reduce and avoid exaggerated figures.”
A Researcher and Lecturer at Jimma University who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Ethiopian Herald that exaggerated figures are one of the reasons for information misrepresentation; hence, there should be effective measurement and evaluation system in improving the presentation of reliable information on reports. Once, Tigray State has established a ‘Plan and Report Conformity Commission’ to curb figure exaggeration problems, which are usually the source of conflicts among the society, commonly observed in public institutions, he added.
As to him, creating a reasonable community is also another solution. If the community develops the habit of examining how, why, and who said so, institutions would never dare to exaggerate figures.
Jemal Ahmed, Researcher and Consultant at Ethiopian Management Institute, for his part claimed that there should be clear monitoring and evaluation system in order to avoid presenting distorted information to the society. “For the last decades, the parliament’s monitoring and assessment performance report was so weak. It gives more emphasis for the routine activities rather than monitoring the strategic plans,” he noted.
A monitoring and evaluation team must be established not only in the parliament, but also in all public institutions to avoid such kind of mistakes. The system should be installed for all sectors, Council of Ministers and House of Peoples Representatives, Jemal suggested.
Herald April 23/2019
BY HIZKEL HAILU
