With public debt rising around the world, effective parliamentary oversight has never been more essential. Parliaments are critical fiscal policy institutions with unique oversight responsibilities. Yet their ability to exercise these responsibilities depends largely on debt transparency and institutional capacity.

The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) has taken a leadership role in generating insight and crafting and deploying global tools that empower parliaments to play their rightful oversight role.

First, WFD has created and piloted its Public Debt Management Assessment Toolkit (PDMAT), WFD has partnered with parliaments to apply the PDMAT in Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Albania. Each assessment resulted in critical insights into how oversight mechanisms function or fall short.

Second, WFD has commissioned and is now publishing the Public Debt Integrity Series, a series of 13 research papers on the role of parliaments in public debt oversight. Yet, improving parliamentary oversight of public debt is not just about parliament. It requires an accountability ecosystem. Supreme audit institutions and civil society have a role to play.

More info here.