Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) of the African Development Bank (AfDB) participated in the 2022 gLOCAL Evaluation Week. In this context, the African Parliamentarians Network for Development Evaluation (APNODE), held a webinar on June 1, entitled “From COVID-19 to SDGs: Leveraging the use of evidence to improve governance and socio-economic development.” The webinar was supported by USAID-TSUE (Tools to Strengthen the Use of Evidence in Policies and Legislation in Africa), an initiative of the United States International Development Agency implemented by the United States Department of Agriculture, the University of Rhode Island and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Representing IDEV, the hosting partner of the APNODE Secretariat, Evaluator General, Mrs. Karen Rot-Münstermann, recalled the importance of using evidence and good governance in post-COVID economic recovery and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The discussion would question the role of parliamentarians and Parliament as an institution responsible for maintaining good governance in times of crisis. She also recalled the central role of parliamentarians through budget orientation debates, where they can guide governments towards decisions that consider the real needs of the populations.
The panelists were Honorable Noël Rossan Goakûn Toé, former Deputy of Burkina Faso, former Member of APNODE’s Executive Committee; the Honorable Jérémie Adomahou, President of APNODE, Member of the Republic of Benin’s National Assembly; and the Honorable Dr. Zeinabou Adama Maiga, Pediatrician, Member of Niger’s the National Assembly. The panelists focused on the production and use of evidence in their respective National Assemblies.
Honorable Noël Rossan Goakûn Toé summarized the parliamentary investigation and communication missions that informed the Government of Burkina Faso's response to the COVID-19-induced economic crisis. According to him, the crisis has not only enabled Burkina Faso to become more aware of the weakness and inadequacy of its institutional system, but also to learn lessons and thus better prepare for the future.
Honorable Jérémie Adomahou explained that the evidence collected on the real situation experienced by the populations came as additional information to the programs implemented by the government in the context of the response to COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, the deputies realized that the answer to the crisis required more effort.
Honorable Dr. Zeinabou Adama Maïga described the important role of parliamentarians in considering the needs of the population, especially in rural areas. They have facilitated the interventions of the actors towards the populations and the companies.
The parliamentarians then discussed the readjustment of public policies to create more resilient African economies. Finally, the panel ended with a series of questions and answers where MPs gave concrete cases of situations that put them against the executive and how to use evidence as a lever for political decision-making.