African Democracy Will Remain Weak Without Empowered Legislative Aides, South Sudan Speaker Warns

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Speaker of South Sudan’s Transitional National Legislative Assembly, Hon. Jemma Nunu Kumba, Monday delivered a powerful message to African leaders, declaring that no democracy on the continent can outgrow the strength, professionalism and digital capacity of its legislative aides.

Speaking in Abuja at the opening of the maiden African Legislative Aides Conference (ALAC 2025), Kumba said African democracies will remain fragile unless countries invest deliberately in the men and women who provide the research, documentation, analyses, coordination and administrative backbone of parliaments.

Describing legislative aides as “the quiet custodians of democracy”, she told delegates from across the continent that aides are not mere assistants but “core players in lawmaking and oversight”, whose daily work sustains the legislative institution.

She said: “Parliament is only as strong as its support system.  Speakers, presidents of parliament and lawmakers cannot function effectively without a skilled support structure that provides research depth, committee coordination, procedural guidance and institutional continuity.”

Kumba warned that Africa’s democratic progress, already challenged by unconstitutional political disruptions, depends significantly on the strength of parliamentary bureaucracy, professional legislative work and the ability of aides to uphold procedure and preserve institutional memory.

According to her, “No parliament can outrun the quality of its aides. When political cycles shift, aides remain. They preserve records, guide lawmakers and uphold procedure. They are the unseen weight-bearers of democracy.”

A major thrust of her keynote address was a strong push for accelerated digital transformation within African parliaments.

She emphasised that aides cannot perform optimally without access to modern tools such as digital archiving, AI-driven research platforms, cloud-based committee systems and online transparency frameworks.

“Without digital empowerment, we cannot empower aides, and without empowering aides, we cannot strengthen democracy,” she said.

Kumba called for urgent investment in technology across African legislatures.

Earlier, the Chairman of the National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum, Chief Emeka Nwala, welcomed delegates and underscored the purpose of the three-day conference: to professionalise legislative support work, drive standardisation and deepen democratic consolidation across the continent.

He said: “Legislative aides are the powerhouse that drives parliament,” insisting that building stronger institutions in Africa must begin with strengthening those who quietly hold the system together.

The Abuja gathering marks the first-ever coordinated effort to organise legislative aides continent-wide.

The newly formed African Legislative Aides Association was formally inaugurated at the event, with Emeka Nwala emerging as its pioneer continental chairman.

The conference, which attracted participants from several African parliaments, aims to establish a permanent platform for continental collaboration, capacity development and the modernisation of legislative support work, a move its conveners say is essential for Africa’s democratic future.