BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
Imprest payments amounting to over $473,696 made in 2021 under the COVID-19 Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) have not been acquitted.
Auditor General David Teika Dennis stated that this is a violation of the applicable financial regulations governing the management of standing imprest accounts.
Dennis disclosed this information during the most recent Accountability Workshop held by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) on Wednesday, October 2, coinciding with the release of the 2020-2021 Economic Stimulus Package Audit Report.
He said that the ministry’s utilization of the Corporate Service Standing Imprest account as a special imprest holder for grant disbursements, with retirement processed through a general adjustment journal, does not align with the financial instructions set forth by the Solomon Islands Government (SIG).
“The examination of these imprest transactions could not be finalized as 11 payments from the selected sample, totalling $473,696.97, remain unacquitted, despite the last payment being made in September 2021,” he stated.
He highlighted that the persistent failure to properly manage imprest accounts is a widespread issue within the Solomon Islands government bureaucracy, which significantly undermines accountability.
“Additionally, among the imprest payments were disbursements totalling $1.2 million to seven different constituency development offices for distribution. As previously noted, the majority of grant applications could not be located, making it impossible to verify that grants were awarded to eligible beneficiaries,” Dennis said.
He further revealed that most Constituency Development Offices received a total of $800,000, paid in two instalments: $600,000 in mid-2020 and an additional $200,000 in mid-2021.
“The OAG requested the committee secretariat to provide copies of the submissions for these funds; however, the secretariat was only able to supply nine of these applications,” he added.
One specific case he pointed out involved the South Choiseul constituency, which lacked a sitting member of parliament at that time.
He explained that these funds were allocated following a successful election petition against the incumbent, resulting in no ESP funding being received.
“Two payments totalling $120,000 were paid out to members of parliament from the Choiseul province, followed by a third payment of $360,000 made to the successful candidate following the South Choiseul by-election in 2021,’’ said Dennis.
He said that these payments were directed to the constituency development office without any conditions regarding the utilization of the funds.
“None of the reports offered insights into the criteria for selecting beneficiaries or whether this selection process ensured equal access to these funds for all constituents,’’ he said.
He said that one constituency development office submitted a list of payments averaging between $20,000 and $30,000 to 30 constituents, yet there was no clarification on how these constituents were chosen or their intended use of the funds.
“Another provided a receipt for $290,000 for wire mesh, but there was no explanation regarding the purpose of the mesh,” Dennis stated.
