The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) and the Solomon Islands Office of the Auditor-General (SIOAG) conducted a series of workshops for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Public Expenditure Committee (PEC), Government entities and stakeholders at the National Parliament of Solomon Islands on 11th – 14th September 2017.

The Speaker of Parliament Hon. Ajilon Jasper Nasiu when opening the PAC/PEC workshop stressed the importance for improvement of the capacity of members of Parliament in holding the executive government accountable on the use of public funds, in their contribution to better public administration and greater public confidence in the institutions ofthe Solomon Island government.

The purpose of the workshops were to raise awareness on PASAI and the work it does in the region, especially providing support to public sector audit institutions such as the SIOAG
to improve accountability and transparency in the island states. The workshop for PAC and
PEC was held be on 11th and 12th September, for government entities on 13th and for stakeholders on 14th September.

The objectives of the workshops were:
(a) to create awareness on the work of PASAI in the Pacific region especially in advocating transparency and accountability;
(b) to build the capacity of the Members of Parliament to better understand their role in
providing financial oversight of public expenditure as well as to better understand the specific role of the PAC and PEC within the processes of Parliament;
(c) to raise awareness on the role of SIOAG and how audit entities can be involved in improving the audit process;
(d) to discuss how to achieve greater audit impact by engaging audit entities throughout the audit process;
(e) to introduce a proposed Auditor General’s Bill 2017.

The training and awareness was conducted by the Solomon Islands Auditor General, Peter Lokay and assisted by PASAI consultants Eroni Vatuloka and Aisake Eke. The Solomon
Islands is the sixth country in the Pacific region that has hosted these series of transparency
and accountability workshops.

The DFAT Counsellor for Justice and Governance in the Solomon Islands, Ms Karyn Murray in closing the legislature committee workshops hoped that the training would enhance the work of the SIOAG and assist Parliament in the evaluation of government programmes and
organisations. It is anticipated that there would be an impact in good governance,  transparency and accountability, improving operational efficiency and boosting the trust and
confidence on the SIOAG and the government.

The workshops are part of the PASAI’s advocacy programme to develop strong partnerships
with regional organisations and audit institutions to enhance accountability and transparency
in the region.
The SIOAG and PASAI acknowledge the kind financial assistance of the Solomon Islands
government, the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the New
Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) in supporting the three workshops.

For more information please contact: 

Tiofilusi Tiueti

Chief Executive PASAI Secretariat

Email: tiofilusi.tiueti@pasai.org

or

Eroni Vatuloka

PASAI PFM Consultant

Email: eronivatuloka@gmail.com