The 2010 Financial Instructions were presented to the Permanent Secretaries and Chief Accountants of Ministries by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT), Shadrach Fanega, at the Heritage Hotel on Wednesday, 30 June.
“The Financial Instructions, last updated in 2004, have been heavily revised to make them more readable and more easily understood, highlighting the authority for decisions on spending and managing public money as well as the accountability of public servants,” Mr Fanega said.
Changes have been made to purchasing thresholds with:
- verbal quotes being sufficient for purchases up to $20,000, rising from the previous limit of $2,000 – but the quotes must be recorded on the “Verbal Quotation Form” and attached to the Purchase Requisition;
- written quotes are required for purchases between $20,000 and $100,000 (previously for purchases between $2,000 and $10,000); but
- purchases for more than $100,000 up to $500,000 require Ministerial Tender Board approval; and
- purchases greater than $500,000 require Central Tender Board approval.
“This represents another step in improving the governance of public finances and ensuring that public servants and local business understand the rules under which public money decisions are made.”
Mr Fanega also spoke about other reforms being pursued by his ministry, including the reinvigoration of the Solomon Islands Government Accounting Service (SIGAS).
“Changes in recent years have focused on improving operations within MoFT and the legislative framework.
“Reinvigoration of the SIGAS will focus on the people in ministries responsible for managing public money, ensuring that they have access to training and development, and are better supported in doing their very important jobs.”
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