Opposition leader Matthew Wale has called on the police to urgently provide an update on the status of the criminal investigations into the ESP report.
Wale noted that since the release of the report, the public has been left in the dark regarding the progress of investigations, as the RSIPF has only issued one press release.
“Where are we now? Has the investigation started? It is critical for public to be kept up to date as to what is currently being pursued, and what remains to be investigated,” Wale said.
He emphasized that the ESP report contains one of the largest corruption cases uncovered in the country’s history, with significant implications for public trust and governance.
“We cannot allow this matter to be sidelined or forgotten. It is a matter of national integrity, and the people need assurance that those implicated will be held to account,” Wale stressed.
He urged the RSIPF to expedite the investigations with all necessary technical support and resources, ensuring that no potential leads are ignored.
“The rule of law must prevail, and justice must not be delayed. We must set a clear example that corruption will not be tolerated, irrespective of one’s position.”
The Opposition Leader reiterated his call for public engagement, emphasizing that the people have a crucial role to play in keeping the issue alive and ensuring accountability.
“Our nation and its people cannot afford to let such a serious misappropriation of public funds slip through the cracks. Justice must be seen to be done, and it must be done in full view of the public.
“Corruption must be met with zero tolerance. Complacency has no place in this fight,” he said.
Police Commissioner Mostyn Mangau today refused to answer questions on ESP during a press conference.
The Government Communications Unit says the press conference is specifically called to answer questions on the current reports of attempt abductions in Honiara so the police chief would not field questions on the ESP.
Audit into the ESP by the Auditor General’s Office has found major fraud risk, poor to non-existent administrative controls and almost zero transparency in the disbursement of $309 million in government funds.
And Auditor General David Dennis said:
“The ESP lacked underlying legislative or procedure guidance for issuing grants on the scale involved for the ESP.
“This coupled with the allocation of insufficient resources needed to adequately receive, process, pay and document the thousands of applications, led to weak internal controls.
“This weakness in administrative controls, combined with missing documentation led to a very serious lack of transparency as to how ESP funds were dispersed and ultimately used.
“In most cases there was little or no documentation so it was not always possible to determine whose hands the funds ended up in or how they were actually used.
“In many cases documentation to support the validity of actions and transactions were not available.
“This area remains a concern across Government which requires urgent attention.”