The Fiji Ministry of Civil Service has referred serious allegations of fraud and legal violations related to the 52nd Asian Development Bank Leaders Meeting in 2019 to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption. This referral, made last year, is now under review by both the Ministry of Civil Service and the Ministry of Finance.
During a parliamentary session, Assistant Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel reported that the Office of the Auditor-General identified instances of fraud linked to payments, as well as breaches of relevant laws and policies concerning the procurement of goods and services. The findings also noted limitations in the Financial Management Information System during the processing of payments for the event.
Immanuel highlighted that the Auditor-General’s report indicated a high rate of misstatements, prompting the decision to pursue an investigation. The Fijian Government had allocated $10 million for the event, but the final costs reached $10.9 million, including an additional $900,000 sourced from the government budget for VAT.
The Standing Committee on Economic Affairs criticized delays in finalizing the report by the Ministry of Civil Service and its previous minister. The report was eventually completed on December 2, 2020. Although some delays were attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were also claims of intentional hold-ups that postponed bringing the report to Parliament until March 27, 2023, after the Coalition Government took power.
Immanuel noted further delays by the Ministry of Civil Service in referring the report to the appropriate authorities, including FICAC, for additional investigations. The current Permanent Secretary and team finally proceeded with this referral around November 2023.
In light of these circumstances and the time elapsed, the Committee has advised the current Executive Management of the Ministry of Civil Service, with assistance from the Ministry of Finance, to monitor the progress of the cases referred to FICAC. Additionally, Parliament will discuss the findings of this report in a future session under Standing Order 121(5).