More than $28million in discrepancies have been identified in Fiji’s social protection programs, according to the Auditor-General’s 2024 report tabled in Parliament last week.
The report revealed significant variances between actual welfare payments and figures recorded in the Government’s financial system (FMIS), raising concerns about accountability and internal controls.
The total variance across four major schemes amounts to approximately $28.2m.
This variance were $9.65m in the Family Assistance Scheme, $11.26m in the Social Pension Scheme, $2.99m in the Disability Allowance Scheme and $4.36m in the Child Protection Allowance.
The Auditor-General said the discrepancies were due to a failure to reconcile payment records with the general ledger.
“The reconciliations between the Social Welfare payout records and the balances in the FMIS General Ledger were not performed as it is currently not a requirement of the Finance Manual,” the report stated.
The report emphasised that proper internal controls are essential to safeguard public funds and detect errors.
It recommended that the ministry introduce mandatory monthly reconciliations of social welfare payouts against the FMIS system.
In response, the ministry acknowledged the issue, noting that changes in responsibilities and processes had delayed implementation of reconciliation measures.
“The policy was placed on hold due to changes in responsibilities and processes within the Social Protection Programme,” the ministry said.
It added that reconciliation of bank payouts has now been completed, with staff receiving training to improve accuracy and oversight.
The ministry also said a new Social Protection Management Information System (SPMIS) is expected to strengthen transparency and improve financial management going forward.
