US$2 million Commonwealth Pacific governance programme to launch in 2008

A US$2 million Commonwealth Pacific Governance Programme to kick off next year will help to build stronger democratic institutions, fight corruption, improve transparency, enhance access to information and address land ownership and usage.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon announced this at the 38th Pacific Islands Forum Meeting in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, on 16 October 2007. He said the Commonwealth is looking for partners to provide additional funding for the five-year programme to support the Pacific Plan of enhancing good governance, security, economic integration and sustainable development.

The Commonwealth Pacific Governance Programme will involve the placement of an expert at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretariat in Suva, Fiji Islands.

“Governance is just one of the building blocks of democracy. So are elections and the electoral bodies which support them,” said the Secretary-General. “The Commonwealth has a stake in a democratic and prosperous Pacific.”

Mr McKinnon acknowledged the challenges of remote small states seeking to combine democratic stability with economic growth despite limited resources. He said the Commonwealth is committed to providing assistance that restores democracy and helping all Fijians to address the coup culture so that they are able to govern through institutions in which they have full confidence.

The Secretary-General said the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group at their meeting last month in New York had expressed concerns over developments in Fiji and reaffirmed their support for the Pacific Islands Forum’s engagement with Fiji. He stated that the Commonwealth will also continue to provide support for the democratic institutions of Solomon Islands and for reconciliation and dialogue. Mr McKinnon said he had recently held discussions with the UN on working together in Solomon Islands to increase the number of international partners there and to ensure that the contributions of the Commonwealth, the UN and the Regional Assistance Mission for Solomon Islands are co-ordinated and coherent in support of the government.

The Secretary-General pointed out that the rule of law was another building block of democracy but many small states are constrained by their lack of capacity to draft legislation. To assist Commonwealth Pacific Island countries in legislative drafting, Mr McKinnon said the Commonwealth Secretariat is organising a series of three-month training programmes beginning in December.

The Commonwealth, he said, has also been championing the interests of the Pacific Islands in trade development. A Commonwealth trade policy expert based at the PIF Secretariat has been advising Pacific Island member governments on trade issues, including enhancing their trade policy formulation and negotiating capacity with the World Trade Organisation and the European Union in their Economic Partnership Agreements. Trade policy analysts have also been deployed at finance ministries in Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

Mr McKinnon said the Commonwealth wants to continue working with the PIF and other organisations to ensure that the Pacific achieves the stability, security, growth and opportunity that its people deserve.

“Our financial assistance has grown by almost two-thirds in the last seven years. Our expenditure in the Pacific will increase to about US$4 million per annum by next year -- the highest level in the more than 40-year history of the Commonwealth Secretariat,” said the Secretary-General.

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