Who will be held responsible for OAG Covid Reports? Wale queries Parliament

THE Auditor General’s COVID -19 Audit Reports paint a bleak picture of negligence and recklessness.

Opposition Leader Hon Matthew Wale highlighted in Parliament yesterday (Wednesday 19^th April).

Speaking in response to the Governor General’s speech from the throne, Hon Wale said there seems to be no care and accountability by the government to prosecute those responsible.

“Are we supposed to conclude that these problems are not fixable? Hon Wale asked in Parliament.

“The defensive explanations we hear from the government seem to suggest that nobody is at fault. It explains why no one is held accountable and further investigations on the matter,” he said.

The Opposition Leader has also recently issued a statement stating that permanent secretaries (PS’s) from ministries linked to the OAG COVID-19 Audit Reports should not be reappointed.

Hon Wale in a statement today said the reappointment of the PS’s has raised a lot of eyebrows following the recent release of serious financial mismanagement of COVID 19 funds by the Ministry of Infrastructure & Development (MID), the Ministry of Health & Medical Services (MHMS) and the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO).

The Opposition Leader said the recruitment process should have considered the OAG findings, unless performance was not a consideration or that there was political interference in the process.

Hon Wale said the PS’s reappointment would be a conflict of interest if there should be an investigation in their respective ministries.

Meanwhile, he said at the back of all this, ordinary families and households are suffering the worst cost of living crisis in living memory.

“Wages have remained stagnant, jobs have been lost, opportunities for indigenous Solomon Islanders are increasingly becoming scarce, while costs have increased,” he said.

He said very few of those that are prospering in Solomon Islands are indigenous Solomon Islanders.

“Why does this not concern government? Indigenous Solomon Islanders are poorer for having lost resources and inheriting a less hospitable environment. The government is responsible for this disgrace over so many years,” he said.

ENDS//