LED by Lord Bruce from the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament and Francisca Gale, a clerk to the Tynwald, a delegation from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy visited Honiara to continue work with the National Parliament of Solomon Islands on Parliamentary oversight of the budget.
This partnership between the UK and Solomon Islands Parliaments will strengthen the financial work of parliamentary standing committees. The visiting delegation held sessions on financial management with members of the Public Accounts Committee, the Public Expenditure Committee and staff of the National Parliament.
Speaking at the launch event at Heritage Park Hotel, British High Commissioner to Solomon Islands and Nauru, Thomas Coward said:
“I am proud of this partnership between the Parliaments of Solomon Islands and the UK. Democracy needs continual improvement and renewal to thrive. Through this partnership we can work together on this, whilst strengthening the deep historic links and personal friendships between our two countries.”
The partnership also marks the Westminster Foundation for Democracy’s first engagement in Solomon Islands and in the Pacific region. WFD is the UK public body dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world.
WFD Programme Manager in-country, Brian Titus Leafasia said:
“The workshops held by WDF were part of the Solomon Islands National Parliament and UK Parliament partnership around public finance management, mainly on enhancing and strengthening transparency and accountability through partnerships. The Public Accounts Committee and Public Expenditure Committee and the Parliament staff play a major role in this partnership programme.”
Team leader of the visiting team to Honiara, Lord Bruce said:
“What we love doing really is sharing experiences including our mistakes as well as our successes with other people in the hope that can all improve the quality of our democracy and the relationship between the people, the parliament and the government and that means the role of financial accountability, the functioning of committees that sort of thing.”
The WDF team left Honiara on Sunday 26 March 2023.
