Claims Fiji govt’s financial mismanagement getting worse | NZ FIJI TIMES

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Update: 8:34am – Financial mismanagement in Fiji’s government departments is getting worse, according to a civil society organisation.

Last week, the annual report of the auditor general was released, which identified areas of misspending, unaccounted funds and a lack of transparency.

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Among the highlights included, US$15 million unaccounted from the National Fire Authority, $1.2 million in unused grants at the lands ministry, and a container load of medicine that sat on a wharf for 253 days.

In the report, the auditor general said expenditure authorisation and budgetary control needs to be improved, as well as greater accountability and transparency.

CCF Chief Executive, Sara Bulutani Mataitawakilai Photo: CCF

The Citizens Constitutional Forum’s chief executive, Sara Bulutani, says it’s been calling for improvements since it was founded in 1991, and the report shows nothing has changed.

“It’s happening almost every year,” he said.

“For example, the 2015 auditor general’s report, there was $FJ30 million unused grant while we still have reports coming from the public of poor service delivery by the health system and leaking hospital roofs, but yet the auditor general’s report that the $30 million grant was unused.”

Sara Bulutani said there need to be measures to ensure better accounting, transparency and accountability.

-RNZ

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