The Ministry of Civil Service has referred serious allegations of fraud and legal violations to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption concerning the previous administration’s handling of the 52nd Asian Development Bank Leaders Meeting in 2019. This referral was initially made last year and is currently being revisited by both the Ministry of Civil Service and the Ministry of Finance.
During a parliamentary session, Assistant Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel revealed that the Office of the Auditor-General identified fraudulent activities related to payments, violations of relevant laws and policies in procurement processes, and shortcomings in the Financial Management Information System during the event.
Immanuel stated that the Auditor-General’s report indicated a high occurrence of misstatements, prompting the decision to launch an investigation. The Fijian Government had allocated $10 million for the event, but the total cost ended up being $10.9 million, with an additional $900,000 sourced from the Government’s Budget Head to cover VAT.
He noted delays by the Ministry of Civil Service and its former minister in finalizing the report, which was completed on December 2, 2020. Due to COVID-19 and alleged intentional delays, the report was only presented to Parliament on March 27, 2023, following the arrival of the Coalition Government.
Immanuel pointed out that additional delays occurred when the Ministry of Civil Service failed to direct the report to the appropriate authorities, including FICAC, for further investigation. This was eventually addressed in November 2023 by the current Permanent Secretary and his team.
In light of these developments and the time that has passed, the Committee has recommended that the current Executive Management of the Ministry of Civil Service, with assistance from the Ministry of Finance, follow up with FICAC regarding the status of the cases referred to them.
Furthermore, Parliament will schedule a debate on the report’s contents under Standing Order 121(5) at a future sitting.