Public Policy Advisory

Strengthening Parliamentary Budget Oversight in the Solomon Islands

Enhanced analytical capacity and evidence-based decision-making for Solomon Islands Parliament through comprehensive budget analysis and expert guidance during critical budget approval period

Client: UNDP Fiji

Sector: Parliamentary Governance

Category: Risk Modeling, Composite Index Design, Data Analytics, Crisis Monitoring

Key achievements and results

Provided expert advice and guidance to parliamentary leadership to deliver comprehensive budget analysis for the public accounts committee and parliamentarians prior to a critical parliamentary vote
Strengthened institutional framework for budget analysis and oversight through collaboration with Public Accounts Committee and Auditor General
Enhanced analytical capacity of parliamentary secretariat through direct skills transfer and tool deployment

Problem

The Solomon Islands Parliament faced critical limitations in budget oversight capacity. Parliamentary staff lacked independent analytical capability to scrutinize the national budget effectively, leaving MPs to vote without adequate analytical support. With extremely limited timeframes for budget review and no standardized analytical processes, parliament struggled to provide meaningful oversight of government spending decisions. The absence of systematic budget analysis compromised the institution’s ability to fulfill its constitutional oversight responsibilities and limited evidence-based parliamentary decision-making.

Approach

As the senior Public Financial Management expert, I designed and implemented a comprehensive budget analysis program in consultation with the Public Accounts Committee, Auditor General, and senior parliamentary staff. Working with parliamentary leadership, I worked with a team of fifteen parliamentary analysts, providing direct technical guidance and deploying specialized analytical tools to process budget data efficiently. The approach emphasized building sustainable analytical capacity through hands-on skills transfer while delivering immediate analytical outputs to support the 2024 budget review process by the Public Accounts Committee and parliamentarians voting on the budget.

Discussing budget analysis with the Public Accounts Committee of the Solomon Islands

Results

The mission successfully delivered comprehensive budget analysis that enhanced parliamentary oversight of the 2024 budget. Parliamentary analysts gained practical skills in budget data processing and analytical techniques, significantly improving their ability to provide evidence-based briefings to MPs. The collaborative approach strengthened relationships between parliament, the Public Accounts Committee, and Auditor General, establishing a more robust institutional framework for ongoing budget oversight. The analytical capacity built during this mission continues to support parliamentary oversight functions beyond the initial engagement.

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