WFD recently hosted a residential professional development course on public debt oversight and anticorruption to help achieve the Southeast Asian Parliamentarians Against Corruption (SEAPAC) Regional Action Plan.

Southeast Asian Parliamentarians Against Corruption (SEAPAC) is a network of MPs from the region who have common concerns and focus on issues of anti-corruption and good governance that was established as the regional chapter of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption (GOPAC).

In September 2021, SEAPAC adopted its 2021-2023 Regional Action Plan — focusing on engagement and empowerment, institutional improvement, and knowledge research and advocacy.

In line with this plan, providing professional development for parliamentarians and parliamentary staff in anti-corruption is of utmost importance, helping them gain the necessary knowledge, skills, and tools to effectively combat corruption in Southeast Asian parliaments, ensuring supporting staff to be actively engaged in anti-corruption efforts, contribute to institutional improvements, and promote good governance practices.

WFD’s tailored-made course was aimed at parliamentarians and parliamentary staff affiliated with SEAPAC who are involved in anti-corruption, transparency, and accountability processes.

The participants from seven countries received training on topics including:

• National and international regulatory frameworks
• Integrity in the private sector
• Oversight of public debt management
• The role of money in politics
• Institutionalising integrity in parliament

They heard from 15 experts in the field, including Robert Barrington, Professor of Anti-corruption Practice at the University of Sussex, Joshua Reddaway, Director of Counter-Fraud and Corruption at the UK National Audit Office, and Daniel Greenberg, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in the UK House of Commons.

The participants also strategised a way forward for their parliament’s role in combatting corruption.