A combination of a lack of proper procedures and coordination, wastage and disregard of accounting practices has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars, even amounting to millions in tax dollars, being spent by government employees.

The Public Accounts Committee which has just completed analyzing the 2006 Auditor General's Report has revealed a number of irregularities in how government workers managed tax dollars in a number of departments and ministries.

Their latest report looks at the Elections Office, the RFMF, the Fiji Police Force, the Home Affairs Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry amongst others.

Looking at the Elections Office, it is stated that there were excessive printing of ballot papers for the 2006 elections.

2,820,280 ballot papers were printed in contrast to the total registered voters of 959,405, which resulted in wastage of public funds and also indicated poor planning.

Apart from that, there were unaccounted fixed assets, excessive purchase of stationary, missing mobile phones and laptop computers and other issues.

According to the 2006 Auditor General's Report and the Public Accounts Committee report obtained by Fijivillage, the Elections Office failed to properly account for all items purchased for the 2006 elections.

The discrepancy totaled $64,546 and was not recorded in the fixed assets register.

Allowances were also paid to officers, who did not qualify for overtime pay during the general elections, amounting to $65,172 in December 2005 and $320,430 in November 2006.

Poor coordination and communication also resulted in the purchase of excess stationary maintained at the District Offices and the Elections Regional Offices amounting to 54 thousand dollars.

Then there are the unaccounted mobile phones and laptop computers bought with taxpayers’ money.

18 mobile phones were purchased for the 2006 elections without the approval of the Finance Ministry and upon the completion of the elections, 10 mobile phones were not returned.

There were 43 laptop computers purchased for the 2006 elections at a cost of $87,737 and upon the completion of the General Elections, 8 laptop computers valued at $17,741 were unaccounted for.