26 March 2021
The St Helena Public Accounts Committee (PAC) are pleased to announce that their application to become a member of the Commonwealth Association of Public Accounts Committees (CAPAC) has been accepted.
The PAC was formally ratified by the CAPAC Executive Committee at the virtual CAPAC General Meeting and Conference, held on 17 March 2021, which was attended by approximately 50 participants from 24 different jurisdictions, including the PAC Chairman, Cyril Gunnell, and Vice Chairman, Mark Yon.
Mark commented:
“I am delighted that the St Helena PAC is now an official member of the CAPAC. Our interest in joining the Association dates back to December 2017 when the Chairman, Clerk and myself attended a Forum in Westminster, London. Our membership will make us stronger, provide greater benefits and enable us to draw on experiences from a large network of independent Public Accounts Committees, helping to ensure good public financial management and accountability.”
CAPAC is a chance for PAC’s across the Commonwealth to meet, share knowledge, experiences and best practices and support each other. To facilitate this, a newly designed CAPAC online portal was also launched at the conference. The three Executive Officers are: Chair (Meg Hillier MP, PAC Chair, UK), Vice Chair (Hon. Mohamed Nashiz MP, PAC Chair, Maldives), Treasurer (Hon. Juan Watterson SHK, PAC Chair, Isle of Man).
The CAPAC handbook can be viewed on the SHG website via: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/government/public-information/.
Members of the St Helena PAC also recently participated in a series of online workshops on financial scrutiny, delivered by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch (CPA UK), which took place on 16 November, 30 November and 7 December 2020. Forming part of Phase Two of the UK Overseas Territories Project, these sessions aimed to bolster the relationship between St Helena PAC, St Helena Legislative Council, the UK Parliament and CPA UK.
The primary objective of these workshops was to improve the understanding and knowledge of financial scrutiny to better hold to account those charged with governance. The virtual workshops covered three main topics: Understanding Financial Statements, Measuring Performance and Value for Money, and Approaches to Scrutiny and Questioning. The sessions were designed by Larry Honeysett, Head of Financial Scrutiny at UK Parliament, and was attended by St Helena Public Accounts Committee and Audit St Helena.
The workshop concluded with words of thanks from the PAC Chairman, who commented:
“We are very grateful to Larry for identifying the type of training PAC needs, which has come through over the last three sessions. This has been really beneficial and we look forward now to positive outcomes ahead. A few years ago the St Helena PAC recognised they needed more clout and its profile needed enhancing. I am happy that we are moving ever closer to that aim.”
The final report can be viewed on the SHG website via: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/government/public-information/.
#StHelena #CPA #CAPAC
SHG
26 March 2021