Trip Report: Liberia and Kenya

A delegation from the House Democracy Partnership (HDP) traveled to Africa from July 3 to 12, 2010, to advance the commission's partnerships with the legislatures of Liberia and Kenya and make bilateral visits to Tanzania and Mali. The delegation was led by HDP Chairman David Price (D-NC) and included HDP Ranking Member David Dreier (R-CA and Reps. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Michael Conaway (R-TX), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), and Patrick Kennedy (D-RI). The delegation also included a high-level staff component led by Clerk of the House Lorraine Miller and House Parliamentarian John Sullivan. This was HDP's eighth outbound congressional delegation of the 111th Congress and 21st overall since the commission was established in 2005.

The delegation began its mission in Liberia (July 4-6), which was selected as an HDP partner in 2006 after successful elections in 2005 solidified the country's return to democracy following nearly 15 years of civil war. The visit – HDP's fourth to Liberia in the last five years – allowed members to engage intensively with their Liberian counterparts on key areas of legislative development on which the partnership has focused, including the structure and function of democratic legislatures, the importance of constituent relations, and the role of library and research services.

The visit began in the county capital of Kakata, where the delegation met with local officials and attended a town hall meeting in which citizens were invited to provide feedback on local development projects. In Monrovia, the delegation met with House and Senate leaders to discuss their newly adopted modernization plan, inaugurated the legislature's new HDP-funded library and research facility, and held breakout sessions with Liberian members on constituent relations, committee operations, and staffing structures. Concurrently, HDP staff held three training programs for Liberian staff on legislative procedure, budget analysis, and committee operations.

The delegation also met with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to discuss the economic and political progress that Liberia has made and various other issues of mutual interest. Following the meeting, members participated in a signing ceremony for Liberia's new Millennium Challenge Corporation Threshold Program, a three-year, $15 million initiative focused on land rights, trade policy, and girls' education.

The delegation's visit to Kenya (July 6-9) was HDP's third since its partnership with the Kenyan National Assembly was launched in 2005, and it came at a critical moment for the consolidation of Kenyan democracy. On August 4, Kenyans will vote on a package of constitutional reforms designed to address the systemic problems that gave rise to the deadly violence following the country's 2007 elections. Should the referendum be approved, the National Assembly will be responsible for implementing many of the reforms as well as reforming its own structure, including by establishing a Senate.

In two working days in Nairobi, the delegation held consultations on the reform process and other issues with the Speaker of the National Assembly, various party leaders and committee chairs, and members of the Women's Caucus and Reform Caucus. As in Liberia, these meetings were accompanied by parallel staff-to-staff consultations on targeted areas of institutional development, including budget analysis, legislative oversight, and bicameralism.

In addition to their program in the National Assembly, members met with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, and other senior officials to discuss various bilateral and regional issues, and also visited two U.S.-funded development projects: an orphanage for children of HIV/AIDS victims and a health clinic in Nairobi's Kibera slum. The delegation ended its visit in the coastal city of Mombasa, where it toured several projects funded through Kenya's Constituency Development Fund program and hosted local civic and religious leaders for lunch.

After a brief stop in Tanzania (July 10-11), where members visited a U.S.-funded global health program and met with local officials in the Moshi area, the delegation concluded its mission in Mali. The West African nation has experienced four successful presidential elections over the past two decades despite the serious economic and security challenges facing the region, and the visit allowed HDP members to consult with President Amadou Toumani Touré, leaders of the National Assembly, and other Malian and U.S. officials on the country's democratic development.

Overall, the delegation advanced HDP's mission by contributing to the commission's ongoing effort to strengthen the Legislature of Liberia, providing timely consultation and support to the National Assembly of Kenya, and establishing a basis for closer relations with the National Assembly of Mali. For more information about the House Democracy Partnership or its work in Africa, contact (202) 226-1641 or visit https://hdp.house.gov.