The Canadians were there to share their knowledge of public accounts committees and legislative audit methodologies with their counterparts from Saint Lucia. The visit also launched an innovative new component of CCAF's International Legislative Audit Assistance Program: the “twinning” of provincial legislative audit offices with Supreme Audit Institutions in developing countries.

One key event in Saint Lucia, a workshop on how to make public accounts committees more effective, was attended by the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (and PAC chair), the Speaker, and a number of members of both the government and the opposition. The local media gave the event extensive coverage.

The Canadian team included Jacques Lapointe, Auditor General of Nova Scotia; John Noseworthy, Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador; Rita Dionne-Marsolais, Member of the Quebec National Assembly; and Geoff Dubrow and Michael McLaughlin from CCAF.

In addition to the PAC workshop, the group conducted a two-day value for money workshop with staff of the legislative audit offices of Saint Lucia, Guyana, Barbados, St. Kitts and Dominica.

Institutional Collaboration – Technical Support and Mentoring
Twinning Initiatives Launched

As noted above the visit launched an innovative new component of CCAF's International Legislative Audit Assistance Program. This twinning initiative. This twinning initiative is intended to establish a professional relationship between the two offices, creating a long-term institution-to-institution partnership.

The initiative is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency through the International Legislative Audit Assistance Program, which CCAF has administered since 1980. CIDA and CCAF signed a new five-year Contribution Agreement for the program in 2007. The agreement includes provision for a range of new capacity development activities, including twinning.

One significant desired outcome is the transfer of knowledge and expertise to the participating Supreme Audit Institution in order to enhance its effectiveness and impact.

Nova Scotia- Saint Lucia

Nova Scotia Auditor General Jacques Lapointe met with senior staff of the Saint Lucia audit office to discuss twinning arrangements between his office and Saint Lucia's audit office. He came away full of enthusiasm for the potential of this new component of CCAF's International Program.

“I believe that a twinning program could be of tremendous value to the Saint Lucia legislative audit office,” Mr. Lapointe said afterward. “It could effectively leverage expertise in the Nova Scotia Auditor General's Office and CCAF to obtain maximum benefit at a relatively low cost.

“The result would be a stronger and more effective government audit function and stronger public accountability in St. Lucia.”

Mr. Lapointe has since developed a comprehensive program to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise.

Newfoundland - Guyana

Following the Saint Lucia workshops, John Noseworthy, Geoff Dubrow and Rita Dionne-Marsolais travelled to Guyana. Together they led a PAC workshop attended by members of the Public Accounts Committee, the Auditor General and staff from his Office and the Office of the Comptroller General.

Mr. Noseworthy, the Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador, also met with the Auditor General of Guyana, Deodat Sharma, to discuss arrangements for a twinning relationship between the Office of the Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador and that of Guyana. As in the Saint Lucia case, that has led to a proposal for a variety of initiatives.

Alberta - Vietnam

The linkage between the audit offices of Alberta and Vietnam was launched when Alberta Auditor General Fred Dunn met his counterpart Dr. Vuong Dinh Hue in Hanoi in February 2008.

The Office of the Auditor General of Alberta has agreed to provide Fellowship placements for two Vietnamese participants to CCAF's International Legislative Audit Assistance Program every second year beginning in 2008-2009.

New Brunswick has twinned with Tanzania. New Brunswick Auditor General Michael Ferguson and CCAF Executive Director Michael Eastman traveled to Tanzania in April 2008 to meet Tanzanian Auditor General Ludovick Utouh and get that relationship underway.

Two additional partnerships about to get underway are Manitoba and Kenya, and Saskatchewan and Ghana.

The participation of three English-speaking African countries raises the potential for regional collaboration. The strategic plan of the African Organisation of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E) establishes objectives for its members that CCAF, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan could jointly support with regional capacity development initiatives. The activities of other donor countries, especially Britain and Sweden, could be taken into account to ensure there is no duplication or overlap.

If such cooperation proved fruitful, it could serve as a model for other regions.

Benefits for all involved

The developing country partners are all already participants in CCAF's International Legislative Audit Assistance Program.

The primary benefit of the Institutional Collaboration – Technical Support and Mentoring initiative is that it makes possible the transfer of knowledge from Canada to developing country institutions.

But the benefits are not all one way. The staff in participating Canadian legislative audit offices become engaged through this initiative in international development work. They have an opportunity, in sharing their knowledge, to reflect on their professional practices and gain an appreciation for what works well and what does not work well. And they can participate in an enriching experience - learning about another culture, hearing about practices in another jurisdiction, and making new business acquaintances. It's a win-win proposition.

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