Role of Fiji Public Accounts Committee Strengthened for Effective Oversight and Scrutiny

May 12, 2019

Members of the Fiji Parliament Public Accounts Committee with the workshop facilitator. (Photo: UNDP/Jone Raqauqau)


Suva, Fiji
– In a bid to further strengthen their role as watch-dogs for public spending, members of the Fiji Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently completed a three-day training workshop to increase overall effectiveness.

Strengthening of the PAC is essential when considering the general aim of strengthening Public Financial Management (PFM) systems, in the allocation and oversight of resources to priority needs and the efficient and effective allocation of public services.

The training was organised by the Parliament of the Republic of Fiji in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through two of its projects under the Effective Governance Programme, namely the Fiji Parliament Support Project II funded by the Governments of Japan, New Zealand and Australia - and the Strengthening Pacific Public Finance Management and Governance Project funded by the European Union (EU).

The Chair of the Fiji Parliament PAC Committee, Honourable Alvick Maharaj, noted the relevance and timeliness of the training as well as the importance of working more closely with the Office of the Auditor General.

“The workshop comes at a very timely manner as we are currently looking at about eight Auditor-General's Reports, so the training provided a very good platform on how to dissect and scrutinize the Audit Reports”, said Hon. Maharaj.

“It also gave an insight on the mandate of the Committee and how best the Committee can operate to ensure that PAC's independence is maintained while ensuring high quality reports are presented to parliament, which in turn, is in the best interest of the general public”.

He added, “One of the areas PAC looks to strengthen in the future is the working relationship between the Office of the Auditor-General and PAC. While both are independent bodies and work within their mandates, they both play a crucial role in overseeing and scrutinizing public finances.”

The Office of the Auditor General and the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) were present to provide background to their respective work as well as to identify ways in which the PAC, PASAI and the Office of the Auditor General could work better together.

“The building of effective, transparent and accountable institutions including parliaments is the focus of Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals, said the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, Parliamentary Specialist, Jean-Raphael Giuliani.

He added, “Accountability and transparency of public financial management are prerequisites for effective management, to ensure that resources are allocated according to community needs. UNDP will continue to support the Fiji Parliament Public Accounts Committee, and other PACs across the Pacific, to ensure that they can effectively provide oversight and scrutiny of public funds.”

The training for PAC Members was held from 16 – 18 of April.

Contact information:

Jone Tuiipelehaki Raqauqau, Effective Governance – Communications Associate, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji. E: jone.raqauqau@undp.org, P: 3227 552