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$100 note - Source: ONE News
A taxpayer-funded Maori business development has been suspended amid concerns over conflicts of interest, value for money and whether it complied with its contract.
The Dominion Post newspaper reports that the Tekau Plus project, designed to develop 10 Maori businesses so each would earn $10 million of foreign exchange within a decade, was suspended in November.
The Maori Development Ministry, Te Puni Kokiri, (TPK) has said, if "fees were taken inappropriately, recovery action will be taken".
An investigation by the newspaper indicated tens of thousands of dollars were charged for work such as reading media articles, a business awards list and economic forecasts.
The project was worth $3 million and two-thirds of the money has already been paid out.
Tekau Plus was a partnership between the Government-appointed Maori Trustee, Maori business network the Federation of Maori Authorities (Foma) and the Poutama Trust, which provides business services for Maori.
The project was run by Foma subsidiary Fomana Capital. Maori Trustee, John Paki, was chairman.
TPK chief executive Leith Comer repeatedly told Paki he had failed to produce evidence that the project was achieving its contracted "outputs", letters released under the Official Information Act show.
Comer said he told Paki 16 times that Tekau had failed to provide documents and evidence required for a six-month period.
A report on Tekau accounts showed nearly $1.2 million of taxpayers' money was paid to Fomana Capital - but there were no descriptions of the services it provided, what the money was spent on or what work was done by Fomana or third parties it hired.
Scheme could survive
Hopes that the suspension will be lifted within a week are "ambitious", Te Puni Kokiri (TPK) says, but it is unlikely the project will end up being scuttled.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has audited the financial aspects of the project, and Paki told The Dominion Post the outcome was "fine", although some "minor" conflict of interest queries needed to be addressed.
He is confident the suspension will be lifted within a week.
But a TPK spokeswoman says that is unlikely.
"I would think a week is quite ambitious."
She told NZPA accounting and conflict of interest issues, involving the PwC audit and interested parties, are still being sorted out and there was no timeline on when decisions would be made on the project's future.
TPK is confident any issues will be sorted out and the chance of the project being scuttled is "remote".
A spokesman from Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples' office says Sharples, who re-appointed Paki as Maori Trustee last July, is monitoring the situation but at this stage is comfortable about leaving any inquiries in the hands of TPK.
