The Legislature has a very important role to play in poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa. Firstly, the use of government (public) resources must all be approved by the Legislature before the Executive can utilise them. International agreements also require ratification by the Legislature before they take effect and for the Executive to apply their provisions. The Legislature must, therefore, ensure that the Executive present budgets that have long-term and strong poverty reduction orientation.
Similarly, the application of public resources in incidences of strife, whether internal or external where avenues of diplomacy and other peaceful means have not been exhaustively explored, must be checked by the Legislature. The Legialsture, which represents the people, must ensure that the Executive is truly answerable to it.
In terms of strategy, economic integration at the regional level, while ensuring that it is part of the global economy, appears to be the only viable option for countries in eastern and southern Africa at present as regionalism has shown proof that it does impact poverty positively. The Legislature must therefore play a role in ensuring that the Executive adopts and implements pro-poor economic strategies.
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