Mark Street, Suva City. [Source: Skyticket.com]

The Local Government Minister has revealed that discrepancies have been found in systems and processes of municipal councils following the first round of audits.

Minister Maciu Nalumisa highlighted this during a two-day Municipal Council Chief Executives Forum which ends in Suva today.

Nalumisa says governance, accountability and transparency should be at the core of all the work carried out by the municipal council chief executives.

Local Government Minister, Maciu Nalumisa. 

He adds that he has high expectations from the various municipal councils.

“And as the monitoring arm, the Ministry, is taking its role very seriously. Last week, we began the first round of audits. This was focused on rates and capital projects. Well, it came as no surprise, that there are discrepancies in systems and processes. But we will not allow this to continue.”

Nalumisa is also urging various CEOs to promote a culture of good governance and accountability.

“Your reports to the ministry must be accurate and timely. As a practice moving forward, CEOs meetings with HODs must be conducted monthly, and meeting minutes must be submitted to the Ministry for records within seven days. You must also be results-oriented and ensure that the individual KPIs are met as expected. I believe in forward planning, and that is what I expect from you all.”

Nalumisa says the council needs to strengthen their revenue streams, beautify towns and cities, and invest in capital infrastructure developments.

He adds that the municipal councils cannot be complacent about rates and collections.