Labasa Town Council under pressure to fix audit backlog
Council CEO admits three years of audits still pending; ERP system rollout aims to modernise financial tracking.
Monday 27 October 2025 | 18:00
From left, Labasa Town Council chief executive officer Irfaan Ali, special administrator Samuela Ligairi, deputy chair of the Stranding Committee Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure, special adminstrator Chair Paul Jaduram, Opposition MPs Praveen Bala and Jone Usamate.
Photo: Parliament of Fiji
The Labasa Town Council has come under fire from Members of Parliament after it was revealed that its 2018 Annual Report was tabled in Parliament last week without audited financial statements.
This raised serious concerns about accountability and transparency in municipal operations.
The issue surfaced during submissions to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Affairs last week.
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Opposition MP Jone Usamate said the omission of audited accounts rendered the report “incomplete” and undermined Parliament’s ability to properly assess the Council’s performance.
“When you present it to Parliament without that audited financial report, your report is incomplete,” Mr Usamate said.
“It shows a deficiency in the system that must be corrected so that Parliament gets a complete picture.”
Labasa Town Council chief executive officer Irfaan Ali admitted that the council was still behind on audits, saying that only reports up to 2020 had been completed.
“No, sir, we are left with three years,” Mr Ali told the committee.
Mr Usamate also raised broader concerns about the lack of clear performance indicators and measurable targets in the council’s reporting.
He said the documents lacked specific benchmarks to show whether strategic goals were being achieved.
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” he said. “Each year should have clear targets and indicators to show progress.”
He further pointed out that Labasa’s financial statements were missing from the Auditor General’s reports between 2017 and 2020, while most other municipal councils had received qualified audit opinions.
In response, Mr Ali said the Council was now working to modernise its systems through an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform, which would improve record-keeping and financial monitoring.
“We are trying to improve that part, sir,” he said. “We are moving into the ERP system to capture financial and building data more effectively.”
The committee has urged the Labasa Town Council to expedite its pending audits and strengthen internal controls to restore public confidence in its financial management and transparency.
Feedback: rariqi.turner@fijisun.com.fj
