Solomon Islands Parliament approved and passed the 2024 Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2024 in the third reading by the Committee of Supply without amendments, Thursday.
The Bill, now an Act, authorizes an additional spending of SBD$113.4 million ($113,436,406) for the financial year ending 31 December 2024.
The controversial Bill was heavily criticized by prominent Parliamentarians, including the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Gordon Darcy Lilo, the Opposition Leader Mathew Wale, and the Leader of the Independent Group, Peter Kenilorea Junior.
Lilo outrightly rejected the bill, and denounced the budgetary cuts and fund reallocations as “unconstitutional.”
The variation of heads shows a huge reduction total up to more than $45 million
But responding to Lilo’s objections, Minister for Finance and Treasury, Manasseh Sogavare, suggested seeking legal clarification from the High Court.
“If the MP for Central Honiara is concerned, you can seek constitutional interpretation at the High Court,” Sogavare stated.
Introducing the Bill this week, Sogavare said:
“This supplementary appropriation bill is prepared with the spirit to maintain and protect fiscal stability, ensuring the government continues to demonstrate commitment to stabilize its fiscal situation, while at the same time prioritizing economic recovery and growth initiatives that will be realistically implemented in 2024.”
Sogavare added the GNUT Policy priorities under the four foundational pillars include “Economic Transformation, Unity and Stability, Infrastructure Development, and Human Capital Development.”
The government in its cost-cutting measures, makes budgetary cuts and reservations to some of the key ministries in the government including Education, Health, and Infrastructure Development.
However, the government’s cost-cutting measures have notably affected key ministries, including Education, Health, and Infrastructure Development.
| Ministries (Heads) | Supplementary/Reduced amount ($) |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) | $20 million |
| Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) | $2.8 million |
| Ministry of Infrastructure Development | $5.9 million |
| Ministry of Police National Security and Correctional Services | $5.7 million |
| Ministry of Communication and Aviation | $5 million |
| Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources | $3.7 million |
| Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification | $2 million |
| Total | $45 + million |
An explanatory note on the bill stated, “Funding through variation will support other government Ministries’ commitment.
But Mr. Lilo said the country’s economy is a ‘Subdued Economy that is struggling to breathe.
“We are all trying to make it breathe out in this supplementary budget, and I am afraid that we could not find a way in the supplementary that would trigger growth. An economy that is trying to find oxygen for it to breathe.”
He questioned the Variation of the heads, by pulling off resources from the development budget to the recurrent budget.
“We are making a real mess with this supplementary budget.”
He added, “Nothing talks about variation in the constitution. The only variation is within a head, from one subhead to the other subhead. The Public Finance Management Act never states a thing about this variation.”
He said that cuts in budgets for Education, Health, and Infrastructure are not even helpful to our economy.
“Education has been hard hit with a reservation of $74 million, and secondly is Health. I am sad to see this happening. And also Infrastructure. These are the makeup of a fundamental economy.
“Our ordinary people are already struggling, there’s no new supply and no new investment in the last 10 years. This is due to the rising core inflation.
“This supplementary bill, we are only dressing the books by pulling resources from one head to the other.”
He said he was disappointed with the answers given by the officer from the Attorney general’s office during the PAC hearing last week.
“On the Fiscal front, the CBSI said the management of our fiscal economy is a worrying one.”
“Very little will be achieved from the 100-day policy.
“Let’s not do “Power Bridle.”
“The narrative we should be talking about right now is on investment. I am not convinced that this budget will meet your 100-day policy.”
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Mathew Wale said on the Fiscal front, “It is the Fiscal Policy that needs to be addressed to deal with the high cost of living in the country.”
“No! The supplementary appropriation bill will not address our issues.”
Peter Kenilorea Junior said issues surrounding the supplementary bill are fundamental issues.
“We need clarity on these issues. We say we have growth and making no money, but that does not make any sense,” Kenilorea said.
He said slashing funds from these key ministries will only continue to affect the livelihood of Solomon islanders.
“We should not pull money away from Health and Education. Let’s not be tempted to take away from these sectors, let’s put more money into these two sectors.”
“What is the meaning of Transformative, in GNUT — It’s getting irritating.
“Do not be tempted to pull away money from these fundamental areas. It will have a big impact even in the short term.
“It is sad to see a reduction in education when it’s the right time to invest in education.”
Last week at the Public Accounts Committee meeting, these key ministries confirmed that they have not been consulted regarding their 2024 budget reduction or reservation.
“We were not been part of the decision made,” officials of both the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health confirmed.
Deputy Prime Minister Bradley Tovosia said GNUT was just born a few months ago so we all need to work together towards this bill.
The theme for this bill is “Restoring fiscal stability to sustain growth.”
Parliament was on special adjournment until Monday 9th September 2024.