BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
LOCAL Auditor Philemon Kala of the Office of the Auditors General says the caretaker Solomon Islands government financial affairs lacks transparency and accountability based on the disclaimer opinion audit report in 2018.
Kala made the statement when responding to the General Secretary of the Solomon Islands Development Services Exchange (DSE), Jennifer Wate, during the Q&A panel session at the official launch of the Corruption Perception Index for 2023 (CPI) held on Friday at Justice Ground in Honiara.
According to Kala, the Solomon Islands Office of the Auditors General (OAG) released a disclaimer audit opinion report in the 2018 Financial Audit Report, which raises serious questions regarding the dependability and accuracy of the financial data that the government has provided.
“The Disclaimer audit opinion is the bad or worst audit opinion. When we issue this report, it indicates a problem, meaning there is no proper financial governing system in place with the client or the entity is not complying with the policies they should comply with. It is the worst report.
“If we issue a disclaimer audit opinion to our public entity, it should give us an indication that there is a big problem, especially with how they managed public funds.
“This raises serious concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the financial information provided by the government,’’ he said.
A disclaimer audit opinion is the most unfavorable opinion that auditors can give. It indicates that the auditors were unable to obtain sufficient and appropriate evidence to form an opinion on the government’s financial statements.
Likewise, the General Secretary of the Solomon Islands Development Services Exchange (DSE), Jennifer Wate, said there is a moral decay in our society today, which reflects the country’s 43 out of 100 score on the latest 2023 Corruption Perception Index.
“Our score is still stagnant. We are not moving, even to reaching the 100 mark,’’ said Mrs. Wate.
She said that 70% of the county’s population is made up of young people or youths.
“People will not be happy whenever they speak out because they will express their thoughts. They have already spoken out, which was reflected in the 2021 riot. This indicates that they are not happy. Yet we are not providing the services that are supposed to reach the people who really need them in our country.
“I state there’s a decay of moral value in society because it is creeping in our public sector and all works of life, and this is the critical time in our country where in two months’ time we will go to the poll to vote for our leaders for the next four years,’’ Jennifer said.
