Registrar finds irregularities in the List of Donations for Unity Fiji and Freedom Alliance

The Registrar of Political Parties has found various discrepancies in the List of Disclosures for donations to Unity Fiji and Freedom Alliance, and he has written to both parties to provide clarifications on the disclosures.

For Unity Fiji, the Registrar, Mohammed Saneem has found various donations that were recorded in the bank statements or in the receipt book.

The Registrar is of the view that not all the sources of funds have been accurately reflected in the disclosures submitted by the Party. Some funds appear in the bank statements but have not been receipted following verification of the receipts. However, the same was not listed as required under the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding & Disclosures) Act, 2013.

The Registrar says it is important to point out that Freedom Alliance is a political party that does not operate a bank account to date since its registration in 2014. The party has contested the 2014 and 2018 general elections, however, it has maintained that it did not collect any funds.

Saneem says the party has also not accounted for candidate fees in its accounts and this is questionable.

The accounts of Freedom Alliance have been certified by auditors engaged by the party over the last six years, however, the Registrar is concerned as to why the auditors also did not seek such verification.

Saneem says auditors engaged by political parties owe a duty of care to the Registrar of Political Parties and they are required by law to conduct the audit independently. He says it is incorrect for the auditor to assume they are agents of the party, rather they hold a statutory responsibility to audit the compliance of the political party to the funding framework under the law.

Saneem says the auditors must carry out this process diligently and where they find breaches of the law, they must note the same in their report without hesitation.

Both parties have been allowed time to respond to the Registrar and in the case of Unity Fiji, the party has been instructed to prepare an accurate list of donations under the law and furnish it within 14 days.