Rt Hon Winston Peters
Minister of Foreign Affairs

08 November 2007
Media statement

Work underway to strengthen systems at NZAID

Work has begun to strengthen some management systems at the government’s international development agency NZAID to address concerns raised in an audit report, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today.

“I have been fully briefed on the audit findings by the Executive Director of NZAID, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and have made their report available to the Chair of Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Select Committee,” Mr Peters said.

“NZAID and MFAT accept the audit’s findings and recommendations. Immediate steps have been taken to remedy the identified problems, and this work has been endorsed by the Office of the Auditor General.

“The audit report did not suggest that any NZAID funding had been misspent or misappropriated, or that its projects had been in any way compromised.

“It is also reassuring to know that it was internal processes at NZAID that first recognised that some systems had not kept pace with the agency’s growth.

“As I am not involved in the day to day administration or management of NZAID’s contracting and purchasing systems, I cannot comment on the detail of the matters identified by the audit.

“However, I do hold to account the officials who oversee these systems, and have demanded that they fix the problems as a matter of urgency.

“These issues cannot be left unattended, especially at a time when the government’s international aid budget is growing rapidly,” Mr Peters said.

ENDS

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