The quest by one man to seek accountability on the use of the $1 million district grant has reached the court. A matai from the village of Vaitoomuli, Palauli, wants to know what the Palauli No.3 district council has done with the $3 million that was given to them.

This is a valid question that every person should be asking of their district council. In this case, Autagavaia Upa stated that his lawyer, Unasa Iuni Sapolu, has written to the district council to seek clarification on the whereabouts of the $1 million, as he remains unclear about the matter. Like Autagavaia, most people in this country have no clue how $153 million of public funds have been used in the last three years.

Autagavaia claimed that the Palauli No.3 district council has ceased to exist. This is a similar response that was given by the Aana Alofi No.1 district council when they were pushed for answers on the unpaid school fees of university students. They responded that once parliament dissolved, they dissolved as well. This seems very peculiar, but mostly hilarious. They claim to have dissolved, yet the third million was transferred to district councils. This is a big concern. There is no visible accountability for the use of the funds, which could have been used to make education free, give pay rises to nurses, or employ more teachers.

There is a pattern here. Former governments have wasted public funds on projects that have not taken off, and no one has been held accountable. The construction of Vaiaata prison, the development of Ti‘avea Airport, the Satitoa port, and initial groundwork on the National Identification system, under the Human Rights Protection Party government. The regional airport, chartering of the Fiji Airways plane just for display, agriculture projects with the World Bank, the thousands spent on making policies which never eventuate into reality, and most importantly, the district grants under the last government. Waste of public funds is not a matter to be taken lightly.

Amazingly, 50 districts were given their third million of the district grant last week. How can some district councils claim to be dissolved and yet, without shame, receive the third million? This does not look good for the government or the district councils. This is a blatant misuse of public funds. If the money has been given by the government, where is it going? There were red flags about the management of the district grants from the beginning. Yet, all calls fell on deaf ears, and nothing has been done to ensure that the use of the grants is transparent and that people in the district council are accountable.

The Australian government announced a portal that allows every Australian citizen to track every dollar and cent used on aid. Why can't we do that? The government ministries responsible for the grant keep saying that money was distributed after looking at the financial reports of the district councils, yet they have never made any attempts to put these reports in a public forum for every person in this nation to see how the millions have been used or misused.

The new government would perhaps better use public funds, but first, people need to be held accountable, so this corrupt practice of abusing public funds can be brought to a stop. And we eagerly await the outcome of the court case filed by the matai in his pursuit of answers. He may be just one man, but the question he has posed is on the lips of many.