Rāmere, 25 Pipiri, 2010

MEDIA RELEASE

Te Puni Kōkiri Chief Executive Leith Comer today released the Value for Money Report on the Tekau Plus Māori Agribusiness Project. [PDF, 600KB. The names of individuals not already in the public arena have been withheld].

“I am more than happy to accept the recommendations of the independent review team which helps us to address our concerns about the delivery of required outputs under the contract and the management of potential conflicts of interest,” Leith Comer says.

In March 2010 Te Puni Kōkiri and the Māori Trustee, on behalf of Tekau Plus, agreed that a value for money review of the Tekau Plus project would be undertaken by an independent review panel consisting of PricewaterhouseCoopers; Tony Hartevelt, Deputy Commissioner, State Services Commission; and businessman Whaimutu Dewes.

The value for money review of Tekau Plus has now been completed, and a copy of the final report is available on the Te Puni Kōkiri website (www.tpk.govt.nz).

The Review Panel is of the view that the project needs significant redesigning and refocusing and that it should not continue under the present governance, contracting, performance and institutional arrangements.

“The Review Panel does not suggest that the project be discontinued in its entirety but their recommendations do focus on how value for money can be achieved from the remaining funding available to the project,” Leith Comer says.

The Review Panel concluded that Tekau Plus has achieved some value for the companies involved in the project but this was at a high cost having regard to the project outcomes.

The Panel also concluded that conflicts of interest were managed to an inadequate standard, that the project governance required more independent input, and that the initial contractual arrangements were complex and unwieldy and not optimal.

Te Puni Kōkiri intends to appoint an independent advisor and to undertake a stocktake of all commitments made to Tekau Plus cluster members so that these can be met in good faith.

“I have written to the Māori Trustee, Chair of Poutama Trust, and Chair of the Federation of Māori Authorities, inviting them to work closely with Te Puni Kōkiri to implement the recommendations in the report,” Leith Comer says.

It is then intended that Te Puni Kōkiri, the Māori Trustee, Poutama Trust, and Federation of Māori Authorities will give consideration to whether a redesigned contract can be continued, taking into account the other recommendations in the report.

A copy of the Reviewers’ recommendations are attached.

ENDS

Contact: Jaewynn McKay 027 444 2840

 

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Review Panel Recommendations

The Review Panel is of the view that the project needs significant redesigning and refocusing and that it should not continue under the present governance, contracting, performance and institutional arrangements. The prevailing reasons why the Review Panel does not recommend the complete disbandment of the project are that:

• Commitments have been made, including financial commitments, to support businesses which became involved in the Tekau Plus project in good faith to support business and export development initiatives.
   
• Some value, albeit at high cost, has been achieved for the Cluster participants in terms of their improved understanding of how they might advance their future export aspirations, as well as the development of networks and contacts that may prove valuable to future export and business development aspirations.

The Review Panel considers this progress, though limited given the funding expended so far, is worth preserving and supporting. Therefore, the recommendations of the Review Panel are that:

• A full stocktake of all commitments made to Cluster members be undertaken and these be met in good faith under the scrutiny of an independent advisor to ensure those companies involved in the project receive the recompense they entered into as part of supporting the project.
   
• Consideration be had to a review of the contracting and monitoring capability of Te Puni Kōkiri with regards to contracts of this kind, in particular placing emphasis on ensuring the right contractual and accountability arrangements are put in place from the commencement of projects.
   
• The Investment Agreement and service contracts be redesigned to focus on supporting the existing Clusters achieve a set of realistic and viable outcomes relevant to their aspirations and abilities to achieve export success.
   
• A new funding and service model be designed that places emphasis on supporting Clusters directly, rather than supporting the provision of advisory services to the Clusters, so that more direct funding is available under carefully scoped parameters to undertake initiatives that improve the ability of businesses to achieve export capability and growth.
   
• Consideration be had to re-tendering all the roles in the Tekau Plus project to ensure the right capability is appointed to support the re-scoped project and to ensure transparency around the appointment of advisors is achieved.
   
• An independent director be appointed to the Tekau Plus governance body immediately to oversee the redesign and re-scoping of the project.