Western Province has successfully qualified for the Provincial Capacity Development Fund (PCDF) this year 2025/2026.
This came after the province managed to meet all minimum conditions, marking a significant milestone in provincial governance and financial management.
A key highlight of this achievement was Western Province’s ability to fulfill Minimum Condition 4, which requires the Business Arm of the Provincial Government to consolidate its financial statement with the Western Provincial Government (WPG)
“Yes, we did qualify this time round for the last assessment,” Western Provincial Secretary (PS) Patrick Toiraena conformed to Solomon Star in an interview on Monday.
PS Toiraena confirmed, the province did qualify after meeting MQC4 after due consolidation of Western Provincial Government (WPG)/ Western Provincial Investment Cooperation (WPIC) Financial Statements (FSs) as per PCDF assessment requirement.
“We scored the second highest 62/100 while Isabel scored 69/100,” he said.
He said, this achievement reflects a number of things;
1. The political will shown by the Billy Veo led Executive to have WPIC FSs produced and subject them to audit; something which previous political governments were reluctant to do;
2. The political will to allow for consolidation of WPG/WPIC FSs and submit to OAG; something which previous political governments were reluctant to do;
3. The hard work by the Planning, admin and Finance/Treasury teams to ensure there’s compliance;
4. The planning division’s ability to adapt and be able to multi-task in light of current HR capacity issues within the division due to key staff leaving to find work elsewhere;
PS Toiraena said, he was extremely proud and pleased with the outcome.
“We owe this to the hard work and dedication of the WPG team, led by the WPG Executive management team, and of course the ACAREA executive government, ” he further added.
The PCDF is a performance-based grant system designed to reward provinces that demonstrate strong governance, sound financial management, and effective service delivery.
Western Province’s qualification means more funding opportunities to implement priority development projects, further strengthening service delivery to communities across the province.
The historic consolidation of financial statements by Western Province not only secures much-needed development financing but also places the province at the forefront of financial innovation within Solomon Islands’ provincial governments.
By ULUTAH GINA
Solomon Star, Gizo
