NSW Interactions with the Myanmar Delegates Facilitated by ANFRIL, Bangkok 6 th December 2012

NSW Interactions with the Myanmar Delegates Facilitated by ANFRIL, Bangkok6th December 2012 Bhaskara Rao Gorantla National Social Watch (NSW) Email: bhaskara.rao@nationalsocialwatch.net

Agenda • Introduction of participants • Evolution of National Social Watch • Functions of NSW • Methodologies for the Parliament Watch • Impact • Open discussion • Learning for Myanmar • Open discussion

Evolution of NSWC • National Social Watch Coalition (NSWC) is a result of the felt need of the civil society to monitor the promises and performance of national Governments and International organizations at the Copenhagen Social Summit • India social watch is a collaborative initiative of CYSD, Bhubneswar; NCAS, Pune; Samarthan, Bhoopal and several other organizations and individuals across the country

Evolution of NSWC • Today the NSWC has 8 national coalition partners and state partner coalitions in 15 states. • CYSD hosted the program for more than five years • National Social Watch (NSW) is the national secretariat of the NSWC

National Social Watch • The major objectives of NSW are: • To become a key agenda setter for the government • Redefine the politics of knowledge and usher in a new dynamics in the process and quality of governance • Ensure the centrality of the people at various levels in process of governance.

National Social Watch • The major functions of NSW are: • Research; • Advocacy and • Networking • Major focus areas are - ‘institutions of governance’

Research • Annual Citizen’s Reports covering the Working of: • Parliament, • Executive, • Local Governance and • Judiciary • Perspective and Focus Research Series • NSW bulletin

Networking • Advisory group – 13 eminent people • State Coalitions – no financial relations • Support to preparation of state social watch reports • Release the National Citizens’ Reports in the states • Collaboration with international social watch – www.socialwatch.org . No financial relations • Contribute Indian section/ report in the annual international social watch report. This year theme is MDGs 2015 • Association with campaigns and CSO networks in Delhi

Advocacy • Upload all research output to our website www.socialwatchindia.net • Publish and release all major research outputs • Organize workshop to learn and share • Participate in various kinds of workshops by other organizations for sharing and learning • Publish in journals small pieces of research outputs • NSW Bulletin – circulate monthly • Reach out the critical leaders and administrators

Methodology • NSW Bulleting – compiling and circulating • Objectives • Communication to the people the monthly developments in the focused areas – Parliament, Executive, Judiciary and Local Governance, in NSW, state partners and international social watch • Build capability of the team • Get the inventory of the topics to be covered in the citizen’s report and in other research

Methodology • Apart from direct scanning of news papers, magazines, use the Google news alerts extensively for the Bulletin • Press releases of Government are scanned from www.pib.nic.in • The inventory of topics would be discussed in brainstorming workshop to finalize the coverage in the citizen’s reports • Subject experts are requested to prepare sections/ chapters for the citizen’s report • Experts are invited to prepare perspective papers • Internal team fill the gaps and also take up independent works

Google New Alerts

Parliament Watch • Started preparing Parliament session wise reports • Access extensively the resources available on the Parliament website. • Upload to our website the critical material available from the Parliament and official websites and use the links in our bulletin

MPs Performance Index • Weighted index of performance of four indicators in the Parliament – • Attendance • Questions asked • Private member bills introduced • Participation in the debates Exploring the possibility of preparing index about outside House performance

Impact • Bringing out good quality research output – Top Publishing houses are ready to publish • Able to reach out top leaders and administrators – in our website you can see the pictures of our board members with the President, Vice-president, Prime Minister and others • Good outreach - this event is an examle

Let us discuss • Association with international social watch • Funding • Farha - Media as partner; conflict of interest • In Myanmar also the business are also becoming MPs

Started watching • what were the promises and what were delivers - Government outlays are reasonable, but outcomes are poor due to poor governance • Who is speaking what – several constraints on the functioning of Members of Parliament • Institutional accountability – Governance deficit due to centralization and Party politics. None of the political parties have real internal democracy

Conflict of interest • Politicians turning into capitalist and capitalists turning into politicians – Vested interest for capitalism • Conflict of interest between the legislative and the executive – Same set of people are involved in preparation of legislation, its implementation and monitoring of the implementation

Uneven performance of MPs • Only nine out of 493 Lok Sabha members scored more than 50% index points • Constraints • Education • Lack of appropriate experience • Various constraints – whips, anti-depiction law, obligation to depend the party stand • No monitoring in the House about their presence and performance

Suggestions • Suggestions depends on our values/ assumptions. Our assumptions are: • Decentralization – Democracy get strengthened at all levels through decentralization. Encourages wider participation in discourses and decision making • Responsible behaviour could be obtained through appropriate systems

Suggestions • Put two term restrictions on political positions and also within the political parties • Minimum education qualification for elected representatives (60% of 1st Lok Sabha were Graduates. It is now 80%) • Minimum five years experience in the immediate lower political representation position for all political representations

Suggestions • Decentralization – Principle of subsidiarity: Higher layer of the governance performing only those tasks which cannot be performed effectively at the more immediate or local level • Break the nexus between the legislative and the executive • Make voting mandatory on every bill/ motion in the legislative

NSW Interactions with the Myanmar Delegates Facilitated by ANFRIL, Bangkok 6 th December 2012