auditing system and a PAC in place, and committee meetings are tele- vised, the PAC (in common with all committees) is under-resourced, the Solomon Islands delegation report- ed. More public information pro- grammes on the audit process are needed, as are more training for MPs and the auditing of state- owned enterprises. The parliamentary strengthening
programme there through the CPA, the United Nations Development Programme and the Regional Assistance Mission had enabled the completion of many of the reforms needed for the nation. More training had been provided
to Members,a website was about to be launched, a review of Standing Orders was under way, a Privileges Act had been passed, a review of a draft code of ethics was to be com- pleted by the end of 2008, a legal framework review of the Auditor General’s office was under way and a new National Audit Act was about to be passed which would establish a National Audit Office empowered to conduct performance audits. However, some reforms proposed
previously had not been accom- plished. Gender programmes were still lacking, a conference for the PAC and the Auditor General’s office with the Treasury had not been possible, Parliament still did not have control of its own budget and the Auditor General had yet to secure staff and financial independence. Proposals were made to add to
the work already under way, especial- ly programmes to improve knowl- edge and understanding.A protocol was proposed between the PAC and the Auditor General so relations between them would be “cordial but not cosy”; a handbook should be produced to guide PAC Members and a workshop should be held so civil servants, the media and others fully understood the role of the PAC. The PACs of the provincial assem- blies should be invited to observe the national PAC. Following the Victorian Parliament’s example, the PAC should be turned into a Public Accounts and Estimates Committee and it should be authorized to con- duct performance audits.
The Solomon Islands delegation also concluded that more inquiries should be done, all the 2007 auditing should be completed for review by the PAC and that the spending by the Ministry of Provincial Government should be audited.That ministry for- warded money to the provincial gov- ernments but the national PAC and Auditor General had never examined the ministry’s spending even though it constituted 95 per cent of the national budget.
The Solomon Islanders agreed with other delegations that a key part of the PAC’s work should be to fol- low up the recommendations from previous years’ reports to ensure faults had actually been corrected. Ministries should be asked to provide reports on the steps they had taken in response to earlier audit findings.
Two levels of government scrutinized in Tanzania The Beechworth seminar was told that two parliamentary committees monitor spending in Tanzania: the PAC examiners national spending and the Local Authorities Accounts Committee (LAAC) scrutinize spend- ing by local government. Both com- mittees have the Controller and Auditor General as their advisor. Meetings of both committees are open to the media, except when they are drafting their recommendations, and the committees are able to invite submissions from the public. The PAC has 14 Members, while
the LAAC has 15 Members who examine the spending of 132 local governments. In both cases, the committees elect their own Chairperson and both were current- ly from the opposition. The Tanzanian delegation con- cluded that training courses would improve the effectiveness of Members and staff of both commit- tees, and that both committees and the Controller and Auditor General’s office needed to control their own budgets. The need to upgrade the knowl- edge of Members on accounting and auditing practices and inter- viewing techniques was especially great as a new PAC was about to be appointed and up to 70 per cent of the membership would likely be new to this type of work. They expressed the view that both committees needed better rela- tions with the public, both in dis- seminating information about their reports and in handing public hearings.The committees should begin visiting project sites to check physically whether contracted work had actually been completed. The Tanzanians called for a more
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structured approach to the work of both committees in future. Comprehensive reviews of audit reports should be planned, reports to Parliament and to the media should be produced in a more timely fashion and the operational practices of both committees should be reassessed to find ways to improve them.This last idea could be assisted by study tours to other PACs in the East African region to synthesize a collection of best practices.