BY NED GAGAHE
The World Bank has thrown its support behind the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) new Community Participatory Audit (CPA) initiative, describing it as a significant step forward for accountability and governance in Solomon Islands.
Speaking at the launch of the initiative at Heritage Park Hotel yesterday, World Bank representative Alison Ofotalau said the programme goes beyond being a new audit methodology and represents a stronger commitment to public accountability.
“Today marks a genuinely significant step for accountability and governance in Solomon Islands,” Ms Ofotalau said.
“The launch of the Community Participatory Audit is not simply a new audit methodology. It is a signal that public funds belong to the public and that communities have the right to understand and examine how these funds are used.”
She said constituency development funds reach directly into communities, making transparency and citizen participation essential to ensuring that public resources are used effectively.
According to Ms Ofotalau, the initiative strengthens the connection between government accountability and service delivery by allowing communities to play a more active role in the audit process.
The World Bank is supporting the initiative through its Building Capacity in Statistics and Audit (CAPSA) Project, which has partnered with the OAG since 2022 to strengthen audit quality, modernise audit methods and improve communication of audit findings.
Ms Ofotalau said a mid-term review of the CAPSA Project conducted earlier this year confirmed that the OAG had made significant progress in several key areas.
These include reducing the statutory audit backlog, integrating modern information technology audit tools and moving towards full compliance with international standards for supreme audit institutions.
She described the Community Participatory Audit approach, developed by the OAG’s performance audit team, as one of the most innovative outcomes of the partnership.
“The community participatory audit approach pioneered by the OAG’s performance audit team is one of the most innovative elements of this partnership, translating technical audit work into citizen-friendly insights that communities can act on,” she said.
Ms Ofotalau said the pilot audit undertaken in North Guadalcanal Constituency demonstrates the potential of the approach to empower communities and strengthen oversight of public spending.
“It shows that auditing can move beyond compliance reports that are read only by specialists to becoming a tool that communities, civil society, women’s groups and youth can use to hold their leaders accountable,” she said.
The World Bank representative said her organisation looks forward to the release of the pilot audit findings and remains committed to support the expansion of the programme to more constituencies and thematic areas in the future.
She also encouraged Constituency Development Officers (CDOs) to cooperate fully with the audit process and urges civil society organisations and communities to actively participate.
“Your participation is not just welcome, it is essential,” she said.
“The community participatory audit only fulfils its purpose if communities engage, raise questions and demand that recommendations are implemented.”
Ms Ofotalau congratulated the Auditor General and his team for introducing the initiative and described the launch as an important milestone to strengthen public accountability in Solomon Islands.
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