The Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT) has clarified the misleading statement and report published in various media outlets recently with names of public officers allegedly receiving support under the Economic Stimulus Package (ESP).
The article with the same list of public officers was widely circulated in 2020 on various media platforms. According to the Ministry, the article is misleading and can amount to defamation of character to those who appear on the list.
The Ministry clarifies that the list was not part of the recently released Office of the Auditor General (OAG) audit report.
“The Ministry confirmed that public officers do not qualify for ESP under the policy guide. The Ministry also clarify that officials including the former Director of Economic Reform Unit (ERU) that appeared on the list were entrusted to hold imprest to support the operation, which include the allowances and travel costs of volunteers who were engaged during the implementation and assessment stage of the Policy. All officers who held imprest for these purposes have properly retired the imprest and there is no outstanding imprest under this categories”.
Similar approaches were also undertaken for public officers under the Investment Division and Price Control under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour, and Immigration.
“The Ministry clarifies that as a holder of imprest, these public officers have a responsibility to fully retire the imprest received as any outstanding amount not accounted for will be deducted from their salary”.
Public officers were imprest holders and were NOT recipients of ESP. In the spirit of transparency and accountability MOFT welcomes any investigation and stands ready to assist.
Ends///
-GCU
