It has been claimed in the Solomon Star newspaper today, Wednesday, that the Australian High Commission Head of Mission Sally-Anne Vincent has announced the imminent withdrawal of their financial support to the National Transport Fund (NTF).
The announcement was made when the Australian High Commission team appeared before the Public Accounts Commission (PAC) on the 2021 Appropriation Bill 2021 inquiry yesterday.
The announcement has worried the Public Accounts Committee.
Ms Vincent explained the withdrawal of support for the NTF by saying that they always have expiry dates for their programs so they cannot continue continuously.
“While we are not putting new funds into the NTF there remains undispersed funding within the NTF and the Solomon Island Government can continue to disperse for another period of time.
“We had been funding the NTF since 2011 so it's been a 10 years investment as well,” Ms Vincent told the PAC.
Mr. Wale was concerned about Australia’s move and said that it was only recently that the governance around the NTF came out reasonably good.
Footnote.
The NTF has helped to fund the construction and maintenance of old and new roads and bridges around the country and established as a special fund for the purposes of maintaining, developing, and managing transport infrastructure in Solomon Islands. It has served as a mechanism for the government and development partners to fund the transport sector.
Meanwhile, as part of the Pacific Step-up, in December 2018 the Australian Government announced a $2 billion Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP), and during Prime Minister Morrison’s June 2019 visit to Solomon Islands, he announced a new 10-year $250m bilateral infrastructure program (SIIP)
The SIIP will complement the AUD$2 billion Australia Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP).
SIIP will improve the availability and condition of climate-resilient, inclusive and accessible infrastructure in order to improve access to services and contribute to broad-based, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth for the people of Solomon Islands.
Source: Solomon Star News.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
