Certain systems have been implemented in the Finance Ministry with an Internal Audit team now dealing with complaints in relation to government tenders and abuse of public funds.
Permanent Secretary for Finance, John Prasad said the audit team deals with complaints against tender board members and civil servants.
The government is now making major changes on how it will handle all the tenders being received and approved by the different tender boards.
Permanent Secretary for Finance John Prasad said the Prime Minister has received the Auditor General and Public Accounts Committee reports for 2006 and it is clear that changes need to be made on how the tender boards are handling the tenders.
Prasad said a number of tender boards have been scrapped and a number of changes will occur this year with only one tender board responsible for all government tenders.
Public Accounts Committee member Taufa Vakatale had earlier revealed to Fijivillage that a number of issues had emerged in relation to the Major Tender Board and on how matters were handled by the Tender Board in 2006.
One of the incident’s that has been highlighted in the Committee’s 2006 Economic Services Sector Report is on the awarding of a tender to Milestone Group Company for the supply of fiberglass boats.
However, it was established that the company was not a registered boat builder and that it has been alleged by one of the fishermen that the boat given to him was an old one and had been painted over to look new.
