A study visit to Tynwald by a delegation from the National Parliament of Solomon Islands marks a ‘continuity of partnership for the long term’, Naomi Barnard, Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) Senior Programme Manager, East Asia and Pacific, has said.

Ms. Barnard, together with Brian Leafasia, WFD Solomon Islands Programme Manager, accompanied the delegation of David Kusilifu, Clerk to Parliament; Salome Pilumate , Acting Director of Committees; Rexford Kouto, Acting Director of Hansard; Melanie Turagaluvu, Principal Procedures Officer and Heston Rence, Clerk to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The WFD, which began working with the NPSI in late 2022 in partnership with the British High Commission in Solomon Islands, facilitated the visit which took place from 11th to 15th September and for which the programme was organised by the Clerk of Tynwald’s Office.

The visit builds on a financial oversight capacity-building visit, also facilitated by the WFD, to the NPSI by Tynwald Research and Scrutiny Support Manager Francisca Gale in March 2023.

Ms. Barnard said: ‘Our initial thoughts were to focus largely on developing PAC capacity, but having visited Solomon Islands in November last year and met with David [Kusilifu] it became clear that there was potential to work more widely with Tynwald and develop a long-term exchange partnership. NPSI has 50 members, Tynwald 35, so we saw this partnership as a good fit.’

Mr Kusilifu said: ‘The visit has exceeded all expectations. We knew something of the 1000-year-old history of Tynwald and had thought it might be entrenched in tradition, but we found that Tynwald is very much a modern parliament that shares many of the same issues and challenges as we do. We’re a young parliament of just 45 years, so we see developing this partnership as an investment in the future.

‘Covid taught us that you don’t need a big staff and highlighted how a parliament can function by being light on its feet, so what has been of particular interest to me is to see how Tynwald manages to be so agile with a team smaller than ours yet succeeds in serving Members so effectively. Through this visit I feel we have an opportunity to be more strategic and identify a pathway based on a “little is more” approach.

‘It’s also been enlightening to observe a parliament where most Members are independents and how that shapes the scrutiny function. And here I think there are elements we can take away for consideration.

‘What also stood out were the Clerk of Tynwald Office’s weekly meetings, with all the service area heads coming together. Having attended one of these meetings I believe we, too, would benefit from a similar exchange with our fellow officers.

‘Long before we set off on our 30-hour journey to reach the Isle of Man, my hope was that we could develop mutually beneficial networking links. The role of a clerk can be lonely, so to have found this strong people-to-people connection - interaction being so loved by the Solomon Islands people – will, together with all that we have learned, serve us well in the future.’

Central to what is expected to be a multi-year partnership is the ambition to support NPSI in developing and delivering an induction programme for new and returning Members after the General Election in April 2024.

Ms. Barnard said: ‘The NPSI programme is very much context led and finding “the best fit”, so to be able to expose officers and Members to the workings of Tynwald and its committees will be extremely valuable in developing a plan for the future. This visit is most definitely not a one-off.’

This article was originally published on Tynwald website:

Tynwald - Solomon Islands study visit strengthens ‘continuity of partnership’