Comments

Mr. Pundu, I highly appreciated your wealth of knowledge that you shared with us. I'm glad to read such an relevant information which my own Lecturer wrote.

Thanks Andrew. The second spike was in 2018. APEC could have been one cause, but I also think there are a lot of salary arrears and whenever there is more revenue those arrears are more likely to be paid, and that is why we see spikes in both 2014 and 2018. Regards, Stephen

What a lovely and beautifully written tribute.

Thank you, Michael. I concur. Very valid points on the public's right to access information on how tax money is spent. However, accessing up-to-date information on the exact amount of SIP fund allocation to each province and district in the country is very difficult. Your Freedom of Information Act suggestion is a good idea.

Hi Scott, The cause of the situation can be attributed to a host of both internal and external factors. Internally, the department blamed the issue on a lack of staff and inconsistent funding support from the government (as mentioned in the blog). It's hard to ascertain whether these are the only two internal factors responsible for the situation or not. A full review of the department's performance of this key function will verify this claim and also reveal other contributing factors (if there are any). Externally, several factors such as collusion between MPs and DIRD officers, costly to visit provinces and districts to do project inspections and verification, district and provincial administration's lack of expertise in preparing acquittals, etc. are potential contributors. Again, a full review of the department's performance is critical to identify both internal and external factors that contribute to the issue and implement appropriate strategies to address it.

Thank you Gordon for that very eloquent and moving tribute. I got to know James well while working with him on a project in Samoa two years ago, assisting the Government in the development of its first national security policy. I will miss greatly James’ humanity, breath of intellectual interests and insights, and his sense of humour. The leader of the project team in Samoa, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Agafili Shem Leo, says James will always be remembered in Samoa for his work on the national security policy, and has asked that his deepest condolences and those of the team be conveyed to James’ family. We were all very saddened by James’ passing. May he rest in peace . Tim George

This is a beautiful piece Gordon Peake, that really captures the James I knew... though it was James ‘the writer’ who was my friend. Spent many a night at the Dogs Bar passionately exchanging ideas on books and writing. He was yet to convert me to W.G. Sebald ! He loved cooking for people and we once ate a curry he’d mistakenly made out of roo meat he’d bought for the cat. It was delicious. I will miss his passion for opera, his desire to make right (or at least expose) what is wrong in this world, and his enduring friendship. My thoughts go out to his family. RIP lovely man 🌸

Does anyone have data on how much SIP funds were given to each province/district; when the funds were given? Opposition MPs under O’Neill complained of not receiving their share (being disciplined for criticizing the government) whist MPs supporting the government were rewarded. There’s no quantitive data to back these claims. Or at least the data is not publicly available. These practices have direct implications on the quality of democracy: for instance, MPs would be reluctant to criticize the government, MPs would migrate to the government side, legislative becomes weak in the process. Everything seem to suggest this has been the case, except the data need to back it up. We need a Freedom of Information Act or something similar to legally coerce responsible agencies to release these data. It’s almost evil for taxpayers not to access information on how their money is spent.

Thank you, Joseph.

Nice article kolega. Prof Michael is doing a great job in researching our small country.

Thanks Frederick, very interesting. Do you have a view about the underlying causes of this situation? Is it due to inadequate budgets, staffing levels and skills? Is it a problem of distorted incentives? Is there a group of people benefiting from the status quo and hence opposed to any reforms? In short is this a technical issue or a collective action / political economy challenge? I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you

Fredrick I agree with your blog post.