Govt. under microscope

For the next two weeks, the Government’s national planning, budgeting, public financial and aid management systems will be under the microscope.

On invitation by the Government, it will be assessed by the Samoa Peer Review Team - consisting of officials from our neighbouring nations and the World Bank.

The Team will be meeting with key political leaders, Parliamentarians, government ministries, development partners, non-governmental organisations and private sector representatives.

In the latest Forum Compact Peer Review progress report, the Secretary for the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade noted the remaining challenges of the Forum Island Countries (FICs).

“Remaining challenges are the weak links between national plans, budgets, and performance, weak monitoring of national results, limited transparency and predictability of aid, aid fragmentation and low use of country systems,” he said.

“The ongoing capacity issues in institutional and especially human resources in smaller island states remain the biggest challenge.

“The limited number, high turnover, overwhelming workloads compounded by high number of in country donor missions, frequent overseas travel to attend meetings and workshops and in some cases lack of skills and experience of staff can often hold back or derail progress in key government initiatives.”

However, Tuiloma said since their introduction in March 2010, the Forum Compact Peer Reviews have been embraced by Pacific countries as a process that is useful to support existing country and development partner efforts to strengthen national planning, budgeting, public financial and aid management systems.

“Ten FICs have completed peer review processes…and three more will complete them by the end of 2013,” he said.

“Of the 135 peer review recommendations made across the 10 completed peer reviews, two thirds were directed at strengthening planning and aid management capacities, systems and institutions.

“The rest focused on improving public financial management, performance management and private sector development.”

He said overall the FICs have made good progress in implementing their peer review recommendations.

“Some are making faster progress than others with a few already implementing about 80 per cent of their recommendations,” said Mr Slade.

“Generally countries that have hosted peer reviews have intensified efforts to improve the way they identify national priorities, turn those into credible budgets, deliver and account for the results.

“They are exerting stronger leadership, engaging national stakeholders and directing development partners to align with their priorities and systems.”

He said moving forward, the Forum Secretariat will work collaboratively to mobilise regional capacities and resources to target assistance to those countries with most need in strengthening their national systems and with critical human resource capacity constraints.

“Capacity assistance will be provided in a mix of capacity supplementation, south-south cooperation or attachments, mentorship, short term TA, and targeted country-sub regionalregional training,” he said.

“I congratulate the FICs for the progress thus far and encourage continuing attention and actions to address issues identified by the reviews ultimately for the benefit of their citizens.”

At the invitation of and selected by the Government of Samoa, the Peer Review team consists of: Mr Richard Nieves, Secretary, Ministry of Finance from the Cook Islands, Ms Lesieli Tufui, Deputy Secretary of Finance and National Planning from Tonga, Ms Ruby Zarringa, former Secretary of Department of National Planning and Monitoring from PNG, Mr David Knight, Economist, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, World Bank Mr Robert Utz, Senior Economist, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, World Bank.

For the next two weeks the team will be meeting with key political leaders, parliamentarians, government ministries, development partners, non-governmental organisations and private sector representatives.

According to a PIFS press release the Government of Samoa has contributed the most senior officials to the Forum Compact Peer Review process having served on seven peer review teams through the services of four of their senior officials; Past peer reviewers include – Ms Litara Taulealo for Vanuatu, Ms Noumea Simi for Niue, PNG and FSM, Mr Oscar Malielegaoi for Tonga and Solomon Islands and Mr Henry Ah Ching for the Cook Islands.

“As part of the peer review recommendations for PNG and FSM, senior officials from those countries will also be joining the Samoa peer review team to observe/attach and learn from the Samoa country systems during and post the peer review in Samoa,” the release reads.

According to the release the Samoa Peer Review Team and observers are supported by staff from the PIFS led by PIFS Regional Planning Adviser Ms Charmina Saili.