Was there a misappropriation of $175,000 from the Fa’asaleleaga No.2 district grant or not? It seems very confusing because now we have two contradicting reports. The first says there was and the second is a statement from the Minister of Finance Lautimuia Uelese Vaai saying there was not.

Let’s start from the beginning. The Fa’asaleleaga No.2 district council reported the matter to the Ministry of Women in July 2023 prompting an investigation. The $175,000 was intended for the district committee’s allowances and administrative costs. However, according to some of the committee members, they weren’t paid at the time leading them to query the MWSCD about the funds.

Following an investigation by the Ministry of Finance, a report was forwarded to Attorney General Sua Hellene Wallwork for her legal opinion. She said the report that Fa’asaleleaga No.2 had misappropriated public funds from the $1 million district development grants.

Sua in her legal opinion said the misappropriation of funds in Fa’asaleleaga No.2 was obvious enough to warrant corrective actions including withholding further grants for the district development project (DDP).

A letter to the Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry of Women Community and Social Development Loau Donina Vaa dated 26 September outlined the Attorney General’s legal opinion. 

"I am in agreement with MOF’s recommendation and way forward to provide notice to the Fa’asaleleaga No.2 and to inform them that your office has found misappropriate use of public funds, and give them 14 days (calendar days) to respond,” the AG wrote in her legal opinion.

It all seems very strange. Last week Lautimuia said the steering committee had reviewed and accepted a report and accompanying letter from the chairman of Fa’asaleleaga No.2’s district council.

“The most important thing is that it was confirmed the money was not misappropriated or missing,” Lautimuia said. “The only concern was that the funds were used for purposes other than those originally intended. However, there was no evidence of personal misuse or disappearance of the funds.”

If the missing money was used for things other than what it was intended for, what were those things? It is only right that this is reflected in the MOF report and this document is made public. This is irony at the highest level. Why did the district council report the matter if the money was not missing? In all of this, the police were never notified and there is a need for a forensic audit of the situation.

The finance minister had indicated pending discussions with the Attorney General concerning the $175,000 expenditure. Despite those remarks, Lautimuia later confirmed that the matter had been resolved to the satisfaction of the Steering Committee overseeing the district development initiative.

In response, Su’a clarified that her office was not formally consulted or referred to any documents concerning the ongoing inquiry into the use of $175,000 by the Fa’asaleleaga No.2 district council. Su’a categorically denied any such action. “We haven’t received anything yet,” she said. “I understand the Ministry of Finance carried out the investigation.”

Public funds that disappeared more than a year ago have now shown up. It was not showing up because it had been used somewhere else. Then why was the district council secretary made a scapegoat and fired from his job after the member of parliament Magele Sekati Fiaui denied having a hand in the alleged misappropriation of funds? From the start, it was claimed that the money was paid to Magele and the secretary who were co-signatories.

The district development grant has been riddled with a lack of transparency and accountability from the start. The grants have been used for things other than development as well. Yes, some money has been directed towards helping lives but the story is not the same across the board.

Unless and until, the financial reports are made available to the public for them to verify and they have been audited by a credible firm, these questions will remain.

The Fa’asaleleaga No.2 case is certainly stranger than fiction.