BY JOHN HOUANIHAU

The Premier of Western Province Billy Veo, has called on the national government to seriously reconsider the Provincial Capacity Development Fund (PCDF) assessments, which are currently implemented through the Provincial Governance Strengthening Programme (PGSP) of the Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening (MPGIS).

Premier Veo made this appeal during the Western Province Day celebration, held in Gizo on Wednesday, 11th December.

In his address, Premier Veo acknowledged the importance of good governance and accountability in the distribution of PCDF funds but emphasized that denying citizens of Western Province access to vital resources is unacceptable.

“What are we Provincial Governments? Are we just a division of MPGIS?” the Premier asked. “It is demoralizing and demeaning that an elected provincial government continues to be assessed yearly to access the PCDF while national government ministries, which receive millions of dollars each year, are not subjected to any scrutiny.”

Veo stressed the Provincial Capacity Development Fund (PCDF) is a performance-based grant administered through the PGSP. Provinces must meet specific minimum conditions and performance measures set by the program to qualify for the annual PCDF allocation. Since the introduction of this grant in 2008, the 2025/26 financial cycle will be the first time Western Province will miss out on much-needed PCDF funding.

He adds last month, the Government of Solomon Islands, with support from the European Union and New Zealand, launched another performance-based grant called the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL).

This initiative, which is part of the PCDF, aims to help provincial governments empower their communities to tackle the impacts of climate change. However, Western Province will be excluded from the LoCAL program, as its access to the PCDF funding is currently blocked Veo stated.

Following the news that Western Province will not have access to PCDF funding for the 2025/26 period, Premier Veo urged MPGIS and the national government to review how the program is implemented to ensure that the province and its people are not deprived of essential resources.

Looking ahead, Premier Veo expressed optimism regarding the ongoing review of the PGSP. “The current PGSP program is unsustainable, and we sincerely hope that any recommendations made through the review will be taken seriously,” he said.