The Fiji Sports Council with a properly constituted board is progressing its efforts to address problems highlighted in the Public Accounts Committee 2011 report.
The following issues and irregularities arose from the lack of commitment given to the future of the council:
- The council did not have an annual budget which would forecast income from such activities as hiring of facilities and naming rights.
- There was no set policy with no signed agreements that were still valid between the council and the various bodies of the sporting federation for the use of the council’s facilities.
- The council had lumped everything including land, grounds, stadium, equipment, etcetra into a single value where it simply stated land and improvements. There was no policy as to what needed to be entered into the Fixed Asset Register.
- The council has had no audited accounts since 2006 when its books were last audited.
The report also states that the council was in a fluid and informal situation after the 2003 South Pacific Games.
“There were no properly designated council board appointed. Two successive chairman of the board had been appointed but they took on the position full-time as the chief executive officer and chairman,” the report states.
“Another major problem was that the CEO left in 2006 and no council CEO was appointed till 2010.”
In addition, the council was financed through government grants as well as through funds from the two lotteries: Pacific Instant Lotteries and Tattslotto Fiji.
However, as a result of the imposition of the 15 per cent Gambling Turnover tax by the Government in 2008, the council did not receive any income from Pacific Instant Lotto as they had to pay the whole of what it received to Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority.
The council with its new board members was able to address most of the irregularities and weaknesses in control issues such as long outstanding balances, debtors’ reconciliation, creditors’ reconciliation, debit balances, payroll reconciliation, by putting in a new operating account system- WINBIZ- in 2010.