The Ministry of Civil Service has reported serious allegations of fraud and legal violations to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, concerning the previous administration’s organization of the 52nd Asian Development Bank Leaders Meeting held in 2019.
This referral was made last year, and the Ministry of Civil Service, along with the Ministry of Finance, is currently pursuing further action.
During a parliamentary session, Assistant Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel stated that the Office of the Auditor-General discovered signs of fraud relating to payments, breaches of applicable laws, rules, regulations, and policies regarding the procurement of goods and services. They also identified limitations within the Financial Management Information System concerning payment processing during the 2019 event.
Immanuel noted that there was a high incidence of misstatements, which prompted the decision to launch an investigation. He explained that the Fijian Government initially allocated $10 million for the event, but upon completion, the total expenditure reached $10.9 million, with the additional $900,000 for VAT being taken from the Government’s Budget Head.
He mentioned that the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs identified delays caused by the Ministry of Civil Service and its former minister in finalizing the report, which was completed on December 2, 2020. Besides the delays attributed to COVID-19, there were alleged intentional hold-ups in presenting the report to Parliament, which did not occur until March 27, 2023, under the Coalition Government’s oversight.
Immanuel further indicated that the Ministry of Civil Service also delayed forwarding the report to the relevant authorities, including FICAC, for further investigation. This action was finally taken by the current Permanent Secretary and his team after consultations around November 2023.
In light of these developments and the time that has passed, he recommended that the current Executive Management of the Ministry of Civil Service, with help from the Ministry of Finance, follow up with FICAC regarding the status of the referred cases.
Additionally, Parliament plans to discuss the contents of this report during a future session, as outlined under Standing Order 121(5).