In a letter to Ken Salazar, Secretary of Interior, Toribiong requests that the Interior sends an Inspector General to be made available to Vice President and Minister of Finance Kerai Mariur to assist him in verifying the status of the US grants and Compact funds Palau have been receiving and also help in verifying and implementing new and better ways of conducting business.
Toribiong said that many financial obstacles that the country is now facing “relates to the manner in which many of the funds received by the republic, from grants and from its Compact with the U.S. and from other sources, have been spent and accounted for.”Toribiong said that a review of the past records revealed many questionable expenditures and practices, however his administration do not have the ability to investigate and understand.He said the Interior’s help is needed to look into the spending in the past.“Mr. Secretary, I have pledged to my people that my administration will be completely transparent. My ability to keep that pledge hinges on my administration’s capacity to understand what has happened in the past and to not commit the same mistakes going to forward. I sincerely hope that you will able to grant my simple request,” Toribiong added.
