with Eve Bazaiba Masudi

The Parliamentary Network had the opportunity to meet with the Honorable Eve Bazaiba Masudi. Elected to the Network’s Board of Directors in April 2015, she is a Senator from the Democratic Republic of the Congo exercising her second mandate. She has extensive experience in the field of local development. She answered our questions about the Parliamentary Network and the future of our organization.

with Eve Bazaiba Masudi

The Parliamentary Network Secretariat had a chance to sit down with Honorable Eve Bazaiba Masudi from the DRC. She was elected to the Board of PN as an established Senator with robust experiences in local development issues. We were able to interview her, asking questions about what she sees for the Network in the future, as well being able to be more personal with the Senator from the DRC.

Why is the Parliamentary Network important to you and your colleagues internationally?

Several parliamentarians are unaware of the mechanisms for financing, technical support and allocation of external resources from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other donors. The Network therefore makes it possible to strengthen the capacities of Parliamentarians on this subject and also allows them to be well equipped in parliamentary control.

With colleagues at the international level, the Network constitutes a gateway for exchanging experiences in the allocation of external resources to the national budget and in monitoring government action.

How the is Parliamentary Network important to you and your colleagues internationally?

Many legislators have varied understandings of the mechanisms in place for budgetary finance, technical support, or the allocation of external resources deriving from the World Bank, the IMF, or other sponsors of funds. The Parliamentary Network allows the reinforcement of Parliamentarians’ capacities in this subject and also allows that the aforementioned be properly utilized in the realm of budgetary control.

At the international level, the Network creates a link for exchanging experiences in terms of external resource allocation for the national budget and also for inspecting the actions of the Government.

What positive and concrete effect do you expect from the Parliamentary Network in the field of international development for the next two years?

The Network will make it possible to involve the parliamentarians of each Member State, according to the specificity of each country, in the achievement by their Governments of the precise and priority objectives among the 17 selected at the international level as the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs .

If the Parliamentary Network is to have a positive and concrete impact in the realm of international development during the coming two years, how do you envisage this happening?

The Network is going to involve legislators from all Member States, according to the specificities of each country, in the realization of their Governments to create precise objectives and priorities among the 17 already reserved at the international level such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .

A partir de quand vous êtes-vous impliquée au sein du Réseau parlementaire et quelles sont les raisons qui vous ont poussée à en devenir membre du Conseil d’Administration?

Bien que ce Réseau ait existé en République Démocratique du Congo depuis 2010, mon engagement effectif a commencé avec ma participation à la Conférence Parlementaire Global du mois d’avril 2015. Installer et rendre efficace le Comité Local du Réseau, participer activement et initier des actions pour la visibilité externe du Réseau et renforcer ma capacité de promouvoir le développement international sont là les principales raisons qui m’ont poussée à devenir l’un des membres du Conseil d’Administration.

When did you begin to engage with the Parliamentary Network and what were the reasons to become a Member of the Board at the Network?

Even though the Network had a local chapter in the DRC since 2010, my formal engagement began in 2015 at the Global Parliamentary Conference (GPC). The principal reasons for joining and becoming a Board Member were to help install and make more efficient the local chapter in my country, actively participate and initiate a greater visibility of the external actions at the Network, and reinforce my ability to promote international development.

Quels sont les thèmes qui vous importent et sur lesquels vous souhaitez vous concentrer en tant que membre du Conseil d’Administration? Comment souhaitez-vous influer positivement sur ces sujets?

Thématique de l’Information et de la Formation : Dans la plupart des cas les parlementaires ne sont pas consultés au stade de négociation des accords conclus entre les institutions de Bretton Woods et leurs pays. Ils sont invités seulement à autoriser la ratification de ces accords conclus et à adopter les lois nécessaires pour leurs mises en œuvre. C’est ce qui explique les difficultés que connaissent les parlementaires à contrôler les mécanismes de financement et d’exécution des ces projets. D’où la nécessité de mettre l’accent sur l’information et la formation.

Thématique de l’Echange d’expériences : les statistiques des Nations Unies montrent qu’il y a des pays qui ont atteint certains objectifs du millénaire pour le développement OMD avec l’appui de la Banque Mondiale du Fond Monétaire International. D’autres pays dont la République Démocratique du Congo n’ont pas atteint aucun objectif. D’où la nécessité d’échanger d’expériences à travers le Réseau en vue de permettre aux parlements membres d’accélérer la mise en œuvre des Objectifs de Développement Durable ODD d’ici 2030.

Do you have any thematic interests that you would like to concentrate on as a Board Member? How will you have a positive impact in these domains?

Thematic foci #1 – Information and Education: In the majority of cases, legislators are not consulted at the stage of negotiations where agreements are reached between Bretton Woods’ institutions and individual countries. They are only invited to authorize the ratification of these concluded agreements and to adopt the necessary laws for their implementation. That is what explains the difficulties which are well-known to legislators in inspecting the financial mechanisms and executing concrete projects. This is why one must place emphasis on information and education.

Thematic foci #2 – Exchanging Experiences: Statistics from the United Nations show that there are some countries that have attained certain objectives for the MDGs with the support of the World Bank and IMF. However, some countries such as the DRC have not. The necessity to exchange experiences across the Network with the intention of giving Members of Parliament the opportunity to accelerate the execution of the SDGs from here until 2030 would be the second thematic focus of mine.

Vos électeurs voient-ils les effets de la coopération pour le développement international ? Si oui, de quelle façon ?

Face à la défaillance de l’action du Gouvernement dans l’atteinte du bien être social de la population, les constituants en République Démocratique du Congo ne voient pas l’effectivité de la coopération et du développement international. La population vit dans une extrême pauvreté et la plupart des projets ne profitent pas à la population. Seul 1% de congolais accède à l’énergie et à l’eau potable.  Les effets de l’appui budgétaire du Fond Monétaire International ne sont pas palpables et la plupart des projets financés par la Banque Mondial ne tiennent pas compte des besoins réels des populations concernées. Dans le cadre de la protection de l’environnement et les airs protégés déclarés patrimoine mondial, la population riveraine est interdite d’accès aux ressources forestières sans aucune compensation.

Do your constituents see the effects of international development cooperation? If yes, how?

In wake of the failure for government action in the achievement of the social betterment of the population, constituents in the DRC do not see the effects of international development cooperation. The population mostly lives in extreme poverty and the majority of projects do not impact the population. Only 1% of the population has access to energy and drinkable water. The effects of budgetary support from the IMF are not palpable and the majority of projects financed by the World Bank do not take into account the real needs of the population concerned. Regarding the protection of the environment, the local populations do not have access to forestry resources with any real form of compensation.

A quoi consacrez-vous votre temps libre?

Market gardening activities, reading and social media are some moments of leisure when there is time available.

How do you like to spend your free time?

Gardening activities and reading what is new on social media are some of the things I enjoy doing in my spare time.