Government of the Federated States of Micronesia

Comments on “Paradise Lost on Travelogue on Corruption”

PALIKIR, Pohnpei (FSM Information Service): September 15,
1997 – In an interview with the FSM Public Auditor, September
First regarding the “Paradise Lost on Travelogue on Corruption,”
Public Auditor Mr. Rensley Sigrah said that the so-called report was
not from the Public Auditor’s Office and he did not see the report
nor review it before it was distributed.

Before Steve Myerson left as an employee of the Public Auditor’s
Office he left several copies of the “Paradise Lost on Travelogue on
Corruption,” on one of the investigator’s desk to deliver to the
Speaker, President and the US Embassy here in Pohnpei, said the
Public Auditor. “No copy was given to me for review,” he added. The
report was distributed couple days after Myerson left the FSM.

The report, he added is unauthorized, unprofessional and it
violates the auditing ethics, divulge confidential information,
targeting certain individuals, compromised and jeopardized on-going
investigations and disregard established auditing procedures.

The FSM Public Auditor’s Office follows Government auditing
standards which deals with performance of a project and conduct of
individuals implementing the project. Upon discovery of any evidence
leading to fraud or misconduct by individual in government, further
investigation will follow. Should concrete evidence for prosecution
be compiled during an investigation, a case will then be filed and
prosecution follows.

In a letter from the FSM Auditor to the President dated June 9,
1997, it was stated that Stephen R. Myerson, the author of “Paradise
Lost on Travelogue on Corruption, “tried to impress upon the Auditor
that if the Auditor did not satisfactorily ‘get what he (Myerson),
wanted’ while working in the FSM he would do all in his abilities to
discredit this nation and its people when he is back in the United
States.

In his June 4, 1997 letter to Speaker, the Auditor said that the
report is an unsolicited personal statement of opinion written up
very unprofessionally and out of frustration by one of his former
staff (Myerson). Although it looks like it was written using office
equipments and material, and during official time, it has no
connection to the Public Auditor’s Office.

The Auditor informed the Speaker that in Myerson’s multitudes of
discussions with the Public Auditor, Myerson often said he is
predetermined that all folks here in the FSM are crooks and that he
was always going to “shoot first and ask questions later.” “Myerson
was not secretive saying that he would do his best to hurt this
nation who uses ‘his’ tax money, in the next round of negotiation
with the US,” said the Auditor. Sigrah in his letter also told
Speaker that the Speaker and Congress will have to fire him (Sigrah)
before he will make any decision resulting from personal conflicts of
interest or influenced by Congress.

Myerson engaged himself in some investigation in the states of the
FSM, but failed. Myerson was to train a group of local investigator,
but he failed also. He did not involve the local investigators very
much in his work and the entire time he worked for the FSM he did not
established a report which was required of him to be submitted to the
Department of Interior through the Public Auditor.

The figures included in Myerson’s report were inaccurate and were
misleading. “He could not (be) qualified to discuss those figures
because he was not an auditor and he had no direct knowledge and
assignment in those areas,” said the FSM Auditor.

The report was put out through frustration and personal dislikes
to some officials in the FSM. The Public Auditor said he and his
family is aggrieved by the reference in Myerson’s report about his
personal finances. “I do not deny I am very very poor,” Sigrah said,
adding that he wonders how many new business start off strong from
day one. “I struggled like all businesses receiving institutional
financing but I did not get my help from Congress or anyone else to
get back on my feet,” he said. He questioned however the motive
behind digging into his personal and confidential financial
information and wonders if such information was legitimately
obtained, if so, was its disclosure authorized, and by whom?

Due to Myerson’s display of unprofessionalism in conducting
investigations, the Congress’ Ways and Means Committee made a
statement in the budget which specifically limits Myerson’s travels.
This statement was in existence even before Sigrah became Public
Auditor contrary to the report.

However, Congress members have been cooperating with the efforts
of the FSM Public Auditor’s Office in auditing projects in their
respective areas. Sigrah stated that the entire two years, Myerson
had four months of vacation each year and he was earning $60,000 per
annum, plus housing, recruitment/repatriation costs and paid
vacations. He was paid over $150,000 in total costs for his two
years.

It cost over $150,000 to carry his contract through for two years,
most of which was granted from USDOI. Although Mr. Myerson is out,
the Public Auditor has already received approval to hire a new
investigator to pick up from where there were failures in the past.

The Public Auditor advise readers of the so-called report not to
give much credence to the report […] that he misunderstood his
assignment and lost objectivity therefore he had to show his
frustrations.

A draft audit report has just been completed on the Capital
Improvement projects in various state, the second report since the
inception of the Compact, which he says depicted the true picture of
CIP in FSM.