17 Dec 2007

Government in Kiribati urged to seek outside help to resolve unaudited accounts

11:59 am on 17 December 2007

The Tong administration in Kiribati has rejected a motion calling on his government to seek assistance from Australia and New Zealand over the long standing un-audited accounts of the Government, government owned companies and corporations.

MP Rimeta Beniamina says this is a concern to the country's legislative body and could have an impact on donor countries willingness to pour aid to Kiribati.

The Finance minister, Natan Tewe, agreed there was a problem of outstanding un-audited accounts, but rejected the notion of seeking assistance from abroad.

He said the Auditor General's office was an independent body and should be allowed to complete the course of its work freely.

He adds government its doing every bit to close the gap and calls on all government companies and corporations to do the same.

He said the problem would not affect donor countries, as there are mechanisms in place to account on how their monies are spent in Kiribati.