In his remarks at the inauguration of the 6th Constitutional Government and 20th Anniversary of Airai State Constitutional Government on Friday, Toribiong expressed his warm welcome to U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas Tony Babauta along with his staff who were present in the inauguration.
“WE would like to express Palau’s appreciation to its close partnership with United States of America, without it, Palau will not be where it is today.”Toribiong said.
The US through Babauta has recently signed a technical assistance grant in the amount of $23,000 for Palau’s Office of the Public Auditor (OPA) He also signed a separate technical assistance grant in the amount of $13,000 to promote the island nation’s Fraud Awareness and Prevention Outreach Program (FAP) for Republic of Palau.
The FAP is being developed by Palau’s Office of the Public Auditor (OPA) in conjunction with the Palau Special Prosecutors Office (SPO) to improve on OPAs ability to timely identify, investigate, and report on incidents of fraud, waste, and mismanagement of Compact, Recovery Act, and local monies at both the national and state government levels.
The funds will be used by the OPA to generate a public awareness campaign that will inform residents on the importance of strong government oversight and the actions that can be taken by citizens to report any suspicious activities. FAP will hold a series of townhall meetings, radio discussions and distribute pamphlets and banners informing the community of government actions, as citizens learn more about the investigative process and how the investigators handle fraud tips and complaints it receives from the public.
“This initiative is part of a comprehensive solution in making the government of Palau more transparent and responsive to its citizens. It demonstrates the Government of Palau’s commitment to ensuring the proper stewardship of and accounting for the publics’ money, whilst also contributing to the improved delivery of public services,” said Assistant Secretary Babauta. “Funding for FAP puts the Republic of Palau on a path towards a better and more effective public administration,” added Babauta.
The Airai State inauguration was held followed by the swearing in of the elected officials on April 5. Vice president Kerai Mariur, State Minister Victor Yano, Senators, Governors from other States, Diplomats among others also attended the event.
