Swinstead said he would return to Australia “with a great feeling of satisfaction and pride at the quality we have achieved, despite sometimes difficult circumstances”. The appointment of a new publisher will be announced shortly.
N0044. HOPELESS PROVINCIAL MANAGEMENT. The Public Accounts Committee Report on the Auditor General’s audits of the 14 Provincial Councils for 2007 show a number of anomalies. The report shows that a number of councils had exceeded the amount they collected through provincial funds and Government grants.
The greatest discrepancies were for Ba, Bua, Cakaudrove and Naitasiri. It would appear the councils had advanced loans to their staff and other people without proper safeguards for recovery. Some councils could not not even provide important documents like cheque books to substantiate authorised payments, while others did not have supporting documents with a PAID stamped on them. The Roko Tui responsible for the money seemed to have no knowledge of accounting principles and processes.
Lau province received money from investments and Fijian Affairs Board Savings and Lomaiviti from FAB Savings but there were no records of receipt. The Ba loan from the FNPF was not disclosed and there were large discrepancies between the Council records and investment with Unit Trust.
The Cakaudrove Provincial Council was unable to explain why it granted salary and wage increase in 2001 when it was continuing to increase its deficit of income over expenditure, and the Naitasiri Council showed variances between the draft financial statements and trial balance in accumulated funds, fixed asset deferred income and asset revaluation reserve.
And some readers have asked why it was necessary to have military officers seconded to provincial councils and the four District offices.
N0045. BLOGGER CUNNING AND DECEITFUL. A person commenting on Fiji Today, the usually reasonable anti-government blog, has used dirty tactics to discredit this blog publisher.
He has published a comment that I did not write and do not agree with over my name which, of course, would lead many to believe I had written it. Not content with this, he wrote another comment signed Croz Walsh intended for my blog.
I blocked it on my blog and wrote to Peter Firkin (does anyone know him?), the publisher of Fiji Today at peterfirkin@hotmail.com. I asked that he delete the comment, inform his readers he disapproves of the tactic, and asked if he knew of any way we could prevent future misrepresentations. He had not yet replied.
For a comment to be published on Peter's blog readers have to submit their name and email address. Peter must therefore have both the name and email address of the offender. I will be interested to know what action he takes.
N0046. TURKS BUILD BUCA MICROHYDRO. The PM commissioned the Buca Hydro Scheme at Buca Village in Cakaudrove last week.The $1million 30kw Micro Hydro Scheme is a joint venture between the Fiji and Turkish Governments that took five months to complete. The project involved the construction of a micro hydro dam above the Koronikaivesi waterfall along with a powerhouse at the base of the waterfall.It was built by Turkish engineers with the help of villagers. Also constructed was a 4.5km powerline which links the village to the dam.
PM Bainimarama said the project was of special significance because Turkey is geographically so far removed from Fiji. He thanked the Turkish Government for its help and hoped the project would serve as a springboard for future interactions between the two countries, not only in energy but in other important areas or sectors of both our economies.
17 comments:
I find it hard to believe that Swinstead's resignation was planned. If, as you say, he was only intended as a stop-gap, it would be normal for him to announce his successor's appointment and to remain for a proper hand-over.
Croz, I think you will find most in the military also have no idea about accounting principles and process. We know there has been many discrepancies in the regimental funds but of course these will never be investigated and never reported and people never held to account. Sadly the military and frank remain beyond any scrutiny so any good work done elsewhere is always going to have critics. Until frank and team learn to apply standards equally to his own me and himself much of his grandstanding will be seen as just that.
my guess is that there ias nothing sinister in this, if there was , would we be alloed to know?? and exactly, Croz how many military officers have degress in accounting that you are aware of, the issue is and remains, that even if these corrupt practices were to continue, under this regime we would never, never be told as they carefully protect themselves by granting officers indeterminate ammounts of leave' and the misinformation ministry is the last to confirm to anyone anything negative, BTW any news on driti, ului etc ??
Croz, can I suggest that your readers join you in protesting directly to "Peter Firkin" through the following email address: peterfirkin@gmail.com
The gmail address is the one that comes up on any search engine for this "gentleman" rather than the hotmail address you've given.
If indeed it's true that anyone posting a comment on Fiji Today needs to provide an email address ( unlike yours ) then "Firkin" has some explaining to do.I personally have never heard of the guy, never heard of the name Firkin in relation to Fiji and wonder if, in fact, he exists at all. Does anyone know this guy?
May as well be called Gherkin for all we know about him, though maybe we should rebrand him Peter Merkin after the genital toupee of ancient times. Seems appropriate given the flimsy front this guy presents to the world and the flimsy nature of his website's content. Fiji Today poses as a respectable alternative to the Fiji media but there's nothing respectable in being party to identity fraud. High time for an explanation.
Good grief, the Turks in Fiji! The old ANZACs would be turning in their graves. It's one thing to speculate on whether the Chinese are using Fiji as part of their campaign for global domination. But what on earth are the Turks up to in Cakaudrove? Is this the first signs of a resurgence of the Ottoman Empire? Is there any link between this and calls in the vanua, apparently made by villagers with heavy Middle Eastern accents, for Frank not to hold elections in 2014? Are they planning to make him Sultan of Suva? As Alice said: "it just gets curiouser and curiouser".
PS. I have blocked this IP address from posting on FijiToday
@sara'ssista and Accounting
It is unbelievable that the two of you are defending the atrocious behaviour of those who were entrusted with leading the provincial councils. At best they are guilty of very poor management and leadership. More likely these practices meant they were able to use the council funds as there own private piggy bank.
Why would the Army have poor accounting anyway? In my experience the Army in any nation is known for rigorous systems where every dollar and every piece of equipment is signed for and tracked with copious paperwork. The accountability of resources in the Army is usually to a much higher standard than other institutions.
@ FijiTodays Nerd ... Vinaka. But isn't some criticism of the posting also due?
@ Accounting and Sasa'ssista ... Incompetence is the issue, not corruption. It doesn't take an accountancy degree to keep records or issue a receipt.
@ Croz on incompetence and negligence ....
Oh one so wishes this were true! But the incompetence and the negligence have fostered corruption and there has simply been no excuse for them. The lazy and slovenly failure to fully account has opened the lid to Pandora's Box and inside...guess what? Taxpayers money - public money that is ripe for the picking. One has spoken closely with the leader of one Provincial Council in the West and there is no doubt sbout this: empty bank accounts, falsified deposits and withdrawals and the appearance at least of collusion of bank officers. The sad, tawdry tales just multiply. Only the firmest and most disciplined approach to this will do and criminal charges!
No, accountability is the issue and this regime fails on every count. Nowhere in my comments have I defended corrupt practices. Again my point is conveniently overlooked by the regime collaborators as if i care to make excuses for a previously flawed system. I don't. The very idea of an unaccountable regime bleating about corruption and never having publicly declared any interest in testing their own corruptibility by being transparent is again a sick joke on Fijians. One rule for them and another for everyone else. Presumably every time any alleged corruption, do we still use that word in fiji?, is uncovered the idea is to parachute another military officer, and then we he leaves another ad infinitim?
@sara'ssista
If accountability is the what you are so concerned with then where is your attack on the Provincial councils where there has been no accountability going back 10 years.
The Ba council response to this was that they were not the ones in these positions during the period in question so it has nothing to do with them. Thats not good enaough. Where is the investigation as to who was responsible and esuring they are never allowed to be in a similar position in the future? Was any money stolen and does this need to be reported to the police? They also need to show that similar practices are not happening now!
@MJ all very good questions and yes i am equally annoyed when any public money is squandered, but AGAIN, my point who is watching the regime, certainly not the auditor general. Apparently checks and balances don't apply to everyone in Fiji, the councils then may very well use the same argument. Don't you have th right to know you tax money is actually being administred by a professional rather than some guy in fatigues, who would know less than nothing about accounting? Presumably they will appoint a colonel as the reserve bank chief?
@ sara'ssista....
Come on! Get sensible and real. The Provincial Councils of Fiji have been improperly governed and run since 1987. Why? Because they most demonstrably have not been representative in the form that is now required by international standards of good governance and public money is used to fund them. Women are not represented equitably - the EU did a survey on this at least six or seven years ago - and they are funded moreover from taxation which is derived from all citizens and taxpayers. This is inequitable, unjustifiable and improper governance and is measurably so. Had the Provincial Councils been more widely representative, then perhaps some of the odd goings on would have been curbed? They were not and so the sad merry-go round of what might be termed 'looting' in some instances continued. This is a sign of dysfunction and pouring good money after bad. High time for the seepage to end.
@islands ...yes and this has been continuing for five years under this regime...my point again is i hope you are not looking to ther military for representation and transparency?? are you?? These would be the same people that make up their own budgets to suit themselves, resisting any oversight by civilian authority and no auditor general and providing themselves disgustingly loose leave provisions that are still questionable.
@ sara'ssista... You are wrong. The current governement is doing something about it. This audit report is what they have done, exposing it. True it might seem like it has taken a while to get this report, but remember they have had to audit all the years that the Qarase governemnt had failed to do. They are now up to 1997 and I am sure they will be continuing until they get up to date. Also, why do you say the military is not covered by the audits. I can't remember anything that mentioned this. As new government audits come out I expect they will be covered.
The greatest failure of the Giant Government of 2006 that come in with its 36 Ministers and Ministers of State post May election was to ensure that the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament sat, was properly chaired by a member of the Opposition and that it produced reports as required and these reports were actioned - seriously actioned and surcharges were applied. They did none of this and they shall forever live on in ignominy because of it. How dare such people aspire to democratic credentials and comfort and deny the very basic accountability that is required of a healthy democracy? They fell at the first post.
So the first thought is to have an illegal coup and entrench military power forever? Baby bathwater? Fiji does really need to grow up and it now has a leadership that never fails to be vain, arrogant and authoritarian by nature. Congrats. Smoke and mirrors until 2014, then what, Indonesia-lite version of democracy?
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