Former Prime Minister Hu‘akavameiliku’s claims that all receipts and records of the $60 million Covid fund were stored correctly in the Treasury have been called into question, with the Auditor General and senior government officials contradicting his claims.
The Auditor General’s report found no records of how the COVID-19 fund at the Ministry of Health was spent. It also highlighted the need for all ministries to maintain proper documentation of allocated funds.
In a response to RTTI on Tuesday night, Hu‘akavameiliku insisted that Tonga’s centralised financial system ensured all expenditure records were kept in the Treasury, denying any misappropriation of funds.
However, his statement appears misleading and evasive, as the Auditor General’s recent performance report, tabled in Parliament, revealed no clear documentation of how the COVID funds had been used.
Kaniva News has looked into the facts behind some of Hu’akavameiliku’s key claims.
Parliament Raises Concerns
The Chair of the Whole House Committee, Lord Tu‘ilakepa, echoed the Auditor General’s findings in Parliament by saying in Tongan:
“Ko e mahino na‘e ‘omai mei he Atita ko e pa’anga na’e ‘ave ki he ngaahi kulupu. Ka ko hono tauhi ko e lekooti ‘oku ‘ikai ha me’a pehe ia”.
This translates into English as:
“What was clear from the Auditor was that the funds were provided to clusters, but keeping records of how those funds were spent, there was nothing like that”.
He then pressed the Minister of Finance, who is also the current Prime Minister, Dr Eke, for answers.
In Tongan, Lord Tu’ilakepa asked:
“Na‘e ‘i ai ha lisiiti ‘o e ‘u me‘a ko eni hange ko e fakamatala ‘a e minisita polisi. Pe ‘oku ke tauhi pe ‘a e mata‘ifika mo e kulupu na’e ‘ave ki ai kae ‘ikai ha lisiiti ia ‘e ‘oatu”.
This translates into English as:
“Were there any receipts, as asked by the Minister of Police, or are you just keeping the various amounts of the fund and clusters they received without any receipts provided to you?” Lord Tu’ilakepa asked.
In his response, Dr Eke admitted there was no proper documentation tracking the fund’s expenditure.
He provided an example, explaining that if the Ministry of Tourism allocated $10 to an individual (“A”) to build a house, there was no way to verify whether the full amount was used as intended.
“After building the house, the Ministry asked (“A”) whether he had used all the $10 to build it. There was no answer to that question,” Dr ‘Eke told Parliament.
Lack of Accountability
The Minister of Police and Deputy Prime Minister also confirmed in Parliament that no records were found detailing how the Covid funds had been spent.
They claimed the Treasury had records of the fund allocations to the clusters, but “no one returned with the changes and receipts”, the Minister of Police alleged in the House.
This directly contradicts Hu‘akavameiliku’s claims that all documentation was available in the Treasury.
With the Auditor General’s report and multiple government officials, including the Minister of Finance, confirming the absence of records, Hu‘akavameiliku’s statements appear to be unsubstantiated.
