$59.6 Million COVID Budget: Audit Dispute Sparks War of Words
A political showdown has erupted in Nuku’alofa over a $59.6 million COVID-19 budget allocation, as the current government, led by Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Taniela Fusimalohi and Minister of Public Enterprises Hon. Piveni Piukala, accuses the former administration of financial misconduct. The allegations centre on claims of unaccounted funds revealed in a recent audit — but former Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni is pushing back hard, calling the controversy “faka kau-leka” — a child’s game.
In a recent interview, Sovaleni broke his silence on the matter, dismissing suggestions of embezzlement as politically charged and misleading. According to the former Prime Minister, the audit in question was not a financial audit — which tracks revenue and expenditure — but a performance audit aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of various COVID-19 response clusters.
“There are two types of audits,” he explained. “A financial audit, which reviews the books, and a performance audit, which looks at how programmes perform. This was a performance audit — not about missing money.”
The $59.6 million figure, he said, came from a budget proposal developed by the clusters formed to tackle the COVID crisis. The proposal was approved by Cabinet before approaching donor partners like Australia and New Zealand. Crucially, Sovaleni noted, it was a budget — not a grant — and all financial disbursements were handled through the Treasury under the Ministry of Finance, adhering to standard protocols.
“All money goes into Treasury,” Sovaleni said. “You don’t just spend it. You go through normal procedures. Records are kept.”
The audit reportedly made several recommendations aimed at improving the performance of these clusters but did not identify any missing funds. In fact, Sovaleni pointed out that the 2023/2024 Public Accounts have already been accepted, which would imply no red flags were raised during the financial audit process for that fiscal period.
Despite this, the Deputy Prime Minister has publicly stated that the government has lodged a formal complaint with the Anti-Corruption Commission, escalating what Sovaleni insists is a bureaucratic misunderstanding into a politically motivated public campaign.
“This is something that should have been resolved internally,” he argued. “It’s not a big deal. The audit suggested improvements — that’s it.”
The timing and tone of the allegations have raised eyebrows among political observers. With the current administration still settling into office, critics suggest that the campaign to scrutinise the previous government’s actions may be more about optics than accountability.
If proven to be a misunderstanding, the affair risks undermining public confidence in both the audit process and anti-corruption efforts — not to mention damaging reputations without cause.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission now finds itself in the eye of a political and procedural storm, caught between competing narratives: one of potential misconduct, and another of bureaucratic theatrics turned political vendetta.
As Tongans wait for clarity, one thing is certain — the battle over the $59.6 million COVID budget is far from over, and the truth may ultimately lie not in missing money, but in missing context.
