Council officers in panic as internal Auditors start digging into ‘Sore Report’
INTERNAL auditors are believed to have begun digging into the substance of allegations raised in the report prepared by former Clerk, Rence Sore.
A copy of the report titled, Political Interference in the Management of Honiara City Council: Presenting the case of dissolution of the City Council under Section 52(2) of the Honiara City Act 1999,” was provided to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last month.
The report gave details of alleged involvement of Councillors and sometimes senior officials in the lease arrangement for 19 Lock-Up shops at the main Market in breach of the Council’s tenancy rules.
Of the 19 Lock-Up shops, 10 are leased by Councillors, two by the Legal Officer of the Council, another two were sub-leased by third parties – one each by the Head of the Council’s Waste Management and Control and the Head of Law Enforcement.
In one instance, a sub-tenant of one of these shops allegedly paid the original tenant, a Councillor an $80, 000-fee for the two-year contract.
The report also uncovered alleged scam involving the sale of the Council’s vehicles on public tender. Winning bidders still owe the Council some $94, 000 in unpaid bids.
Funding of a number of “mansions” allegedly owned by individuals was the other finding in Mr. Sore’s report. He is calling for an immediate investigation.
Sources have likened the Offices of the Council as a funeral home over the past three days. “Everything was eerily quiet. Everyone now talks in whispers to each other,” sources told Solomon Star last night.
“There is more to come out. For example, just about every employee in some sections of the Council owns a vehicle. These are employees that are not on senior salary scale,” the sources said.
News coverage of the Council’s affairs in the past three days has now given internal auditors the ammunition to do their work. They have locked themselves in their offices as they pore through the substance of the allegations.
One area being put under the microscope is the alleged number of missing cheques. The value of the missing cheques is not immediately known but this is an area of interest, the sources said.
Meanwhile it has been revealed that one senior officer whose house was featured in the Solomon Star report earlier this week, was promoted to level 7 only last year.
A Level 7 salary scale in the Honiara City Council earns about $2, 000 after tax each fortnight.
Before that, the woman, a Certificate holder in accounting, was earning just $1, 400 or so a fortnight.
“How could she afford building an executive house as she did in one year?. It is ridiculous,” the sources said.
The sources said many of the Council’s employees who are not implicated in any way are simply grateful all these underhand dealings are coming out in the open.
“Those who were implicated have been told that if they did nothing wrong, they had nothing to worry about.”
By ALFRED SASAKO
Newsroom, Honiara
