Browsing by Author "Butler Anthony"

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    Factors affecting parliament's performance of budgetary oversight in Botswana
    (2023) Marata, Keneilwe; Mattes, RB; Butler Anthony
    Parliaments are bestowed with core functions of representation, legislation, constituency service as well as oversight and scrutiny of the executive. Parliaments are expected to perform these core functions effectively. While that is the case, the effectiveness of parliaments in doing so is often affected by several factors occurring both from inside and outside of parliament. Legislative scholarship has brought to our attention several factors and conditions affecting the effective performance of parliaments the world over. This study assesses the extent to which the parliament of Botswana has improved or weakened in selected factors affecting parliamentary performance. The selected factors assessed in this study include parliamentary capacity and resources, parliamentary autonomy and internal complexity, formal powers of parliament as well as political party dynamics. The study further assesses the extent to which the parliament of Botswana has effectively performed its budgetary oversight role as a result of its improved or weakened experience with the selected factors associated with better parliamentary performance. In its analysis, the study makes use of data from various sources including survey data from the African Legislatures Project (ALP), the Afrobarometer and Open Budget Survey (OBS) data. The study also uses data obtained through desk research and interviews. The study is divided into three sections where; Section one presents the introductory chapters 1 to 3. Section two 2 begins the analysis by assessing selected key factors associated with driving change for better performance in parliament as highlighted above. Still in Section two, the study further assesses the extent to which the parliament of Botswana has effectively performed its budgetary oversight role. In its last section (Section three), the study analyses selected key factors associated with making parliament more or less influential in its budgetary oversight role. This study establishes in its findings that the parliament of Botswana has not experienced adequate growth and improvement in the selected factors associated with driving change for better parliamentary performance. For instance, the parliament of Botswana continues to be faced with challenges of limited capacity and resources. Additionally, parliament has not improved in its autonomy and complexity. When assessing parliament's performance of budgetary oversight, the study establishes that the parliament of Botswana has not effectively performed this role. Thus, this is attributed to its (parliament's) unfavourable experience with the selected factors associated with better and improved parliamentary performance. Furthermore, the extent to which the parliament of Botswana is able to impact the budget process and thus provide effective budgetary oversight, has been attributed to other factors such as parliament's formal powers. Formal powers of the parliament of Botswana have been found to be limited. Additionally, the country's political dynamics have been found to be unfavourable towards parliament's effective performance. Drawing from the study findings and conclusions, several recommendations are made, which mostly aim at enhancing parliament's performance, especially as it pertains to its budgetary oversight role. Some of the recommendations made include the need to increase parliament's financial, human and infrastructure resources; establishing specialised offices of parliament such as the Specialised Parliamentary Budget Office; as well as enhancing parliament's committee system to ensure that parliament operates with a well-developed committee system. Other recommendations include; improving parliament's legal framework including other formal rules and processes for parliamentary budget oversight. It is also recommended for the parliament of Botswana to develop and adopt a performance assessment tool for parliament and its committees. In the end, the study suggests further research that analyses in detail the impact of even more factors on the performance of parliament beyond parliament's budgetary oversight role.
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    Open Access
    Factors affecting parliament's performance of budgetary oversight in Botswana
    (2023) Marata, Keneilwe; Mattes, RB; Butler Anthony
    Parliaments are bestowed with core functions of representation, legislation, constituency service as well as oversight and scrutiny of the executive. Parliaments are expected to perform these core functions effectively. While that is the case, the effectiveness of parliaments in doing so is often affected by several factors occurring both from inside and outside of parliament. Legislative scholarship has brought to our attention several factors and conditions affecting the effective performance of parliaments the world over. This study assesses the extent to which the parliament of Botswana has improved or weakened in selected factors affecting parliamentary performance. The selected factors assessed in this study include parliamentary capacity and resources, parliamentary autonomy and internal complexity, formal powers of parliament as well as political party dynamics. The study further assesses the extent to which the parliament of Botswana has effectively performed its budgetary oversight role as a result of its improved or weakened experience with the selected factors associated with better parliamentary performance. In its analysis, the study makes use of data from various sources including survey data from the African Legislatures Project (ALP), the Afrobarometer and Open Budget Survey (OBS) data. The study also uses data obtained through desk research and interviews. The study is divided into three sections where; Section one presents the introductory chapters 1 to 3. Section two 2 begins the analysis by assessing selected key factors associated with driving change for better performance in parliament as highlighted above. Still in Section two, the study further assesses the extent to which the parliament of Botswana has effectively performed its budgetary oversight role. In its last section (Section three), the study analyses selected key factors associated with making parliament more or less influential in its budgetary oversight role. This study establishes in its findings that the parliament of Botswana has not experienced adequate growth and improvement in the selected factors associated with driving change for better parliamentary performance. For instance, the parliament of Botswana continues to be faced with challenges of limited capacity and resources. Additionally, parliament has not improved in its autonomy and complexity. When assessing parliament's performance of budgetary oversight, the study establishes that the parliament of Botswana has not effectively performed this role. Thus, this is attributed to its (parliament's) unfavourable experience with the selected factors associated with better and improved parliamentary performance. Furthermore, the extent to which the parliament of Botswana is able to impact the budget process and thus provide effective budgetary oversight, has been attributed to other factors such as parliament's formal powers. Formal powers of the parliament of Botswana have been found to be limited. Additionally, the country's political dynamics have been found to be unfavourable towards parliament's effective performance. Drawing from the study findings and conclusions, several recommendations are made, which mostly aim at enhancing parliament's performance, especially as it pertains to its budgetary oversight role. Some of the recommendations made include the need to increase parliament's financial, human and infrastructure resources; establishing specialised offices of parliament such as the Specialised Parliamentary Budget Office; as well as enhancing parliament's committee system to ensure that parliament operates with a well-developed committee system. Other recommendations include; improving parliament's legal framework including other formal rules and processes for parliamentary budget oversight. It is also recommended for the parliament of Botswana to develop and adopt a performance assessment tool for parliament and its committees. In the end, the study suggests further research that analyses in detail the impact of even more factors on the performance of parliament beyond parliament's budgetary oversight role.
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    Open Access
    South Africa's foreign policy and the domestic developmental agenda
    (2023) Sachikonye, Tawanda; Smith, Karen; Butler Anthony
    This thesis seeks to explore to what extent the domestic developmental agenda (DDA) informs the formulation of South African foreign policy with regards to national development priorities. The DDA does not refer to a formally agreed consensus-based national agenda; instead, it is used in this study to denote a tacit collective understanding at the national level that the post-apartheid South African state must promote socioeconomic development. Post-apartheid South Africa's intensive prioritisation of national development as underpinned by the DDA has had a significant impact on not only domestic economic development policies since 1994, but on South Africa's foreign policy and international relations as well; thereby highlighting how the policybased prioritisation of economic development domestically has been transmitted to both foreign policy formulation and external economic strategy approaches (via economic diplomacy and international trade). Noting the constructivist notion that state identity fundamentally shapes state interests and actions, this study examines how South Africa's post-apartheid identity and the values or aspirations relating to economic development have impacted on foreign policy formulation. The urgency and prioritisation of the DDA has compelled South African state elites in both the governing party and national government to prioritise economic development as the overriding national goal across all public policy streams (foreign policy included). The prioritisation of the DDA is also an outcome of the South African state's ideational identification and projection of what the South African government, and scholars have termed the “Democratic Developmental State” identity. In this regard South African governing elites since 1994 have strived to identify themselves as development champions motivated by a consistent aspiration to realise far-reaching national developmental objectives relating to inequality, joblessness, and poverty. This robust state identification process has consequently shaped the South African state's economic and foreign policies, gradually instilling them with developmental tenets. The Democratic Developmental State identity adopted by the post-apartheid South African state (with widespread national support) and informed by the DDA, has undoubtedly ensured the emergence of a development-oriented foreign policy; and in this regard it provides a sturdy “launch pad” for foreign policy implementation with regards to national development priorities. However, even though it is evident that there is a tangible link between the national development agenda and foreign policy formulation, this study finds that the connection between domestic developmental aspirations (as informed by the DDA) and external policy has not resulted in the establishment of an effective and coordinated policy framework that effectually supports a development oriented foreign policy. This is due to intense (ideological) domestic contestations around the economic development policy framework which should inform the DDA.