Members of Parliament were briefed on the national budget 2021/2022 fiscal year, yesterday.
It is the 4th Budget Briefing and second virtual budget mission thanks to the generous support of UNDP through the New Zealand government.
In opening the workshop Tongatapu 5 MP, Hon. Losaline Ma'asi delivered the Speaker's opening speech and stressed that one of the essential roles of any parliament in the world Tonga included is to pass the national budget.
However, the budget process and documents can be highly technical, and requires extensive expertise and human resources to be tackled with, especially in terms of analysis capacity.
Throughout the world, small and medium legislatures are often challenged when it comes to analyzing the budget documents submitted by the executive.
In these COVID-19 times, this budget will present extra challenges for us to consider and overcome.
"This is a very timely workshop, as the House prepares to meet next week on the budget. As such, there is a huge responsibility that rests on us, as Members of Parliament, to ensure that we are well informed, so that we pass a budget that is transparent, inclusive and will ensure a prosperous Tonga.”
The generous assistance of the New Zealand Government through UNDP was also acknowledged that has enabled the successful completion of the mission in closer collaboration with Pacific Parliaments and local stakeholders – the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister’s Office.
UNDP budget briefing mission is under the PPEI project (Pacific Parliamentary Effectiveness Initiative.