Interface Between Communication and Committee System in Enhancing Legislative Performance for Public Good: A Lagos State House of Assembly Example
摘要
If legislative activities require an all-encompassing public domain based on reasoned exchange of ideas, a positive interchange between communication and committee system in legislature seems plausible. Committees are a critical part of any parliamentary internal operating system. This explains why this chapter seeks to investigate the role of communication in the house committees’ legislative performance and specifically, the implication on the Lagos State House of Assembly legislative (LSHA) function. The study identifies and explains the different types of organisational committees and the appropriate communication strategies often employed to share information among the committee members, on one hand, and with the general LSHA members on the other. The study, which is anchored on organisational theory, analyses and discusses the role of communication in a typical parliamentary committee system using a range of evidence obtained through desk research method from the LSHA’s library, Internet source, and other government publications. The study reveals the significant roles that communication plays in the committees’ legislative duties, which include bill review, regulatory supervision, deliberation on public request, and identification of issues suitable for legislative evaluation, among others. It also discovers the factors constituting hindrances to effective communication as the committees perform their statutory roles. The study recommends on how to make the communication process in the house more dynamic and participatory in order to enhance the parliamentary committee’s efficiency to engender public good. Lastly, it recommends that adequate communication infrastructure should be provided for the house and this includes training of members to be ICT compliant.