Little achieved by business $2m stimulus, review finds

A Maori business development project has "achieved little" despite receiving about $2 million of tax funding, an independent panel has ruled.

Tekau Plus was designed to develop 10 Maori agribusinesses so each would earn $10 million of foreign exchange within a decade.

However, it was suspended late last year, after receiving about two thirds of the $3 million earmarked by Te Puni Kokiri, the Maori Development Ministry, amid questions over conflicts of interest and questionable expenditure.

Last night an independent inquiry set up after its suspension reported it had found "little had been achieved" by the project in terms of direct tangible benefits.

It was difficult to establish how relevant the "significant number" of activities undertaken as part of the project were, as there was no way to measure its performance.

The report stopped short of saying the project should end. It required "significant redesigning and refocusing and that it should not continue under the present governance, contracting, performance and institutional arrangements".

It called for a review of Te Puni Kokiri's processes for awarding contracts for similar projects and their monitoring.

The report found conflicts of interest within the project were managed to an inadequate standard, its governance was insufficiently independent, and its initial contractual arrangements were too complex and unwieldy.

Tekau Plus was an "export support business programme that assists indigenous businesses to go to the market with value added products", according to its website. It was a partnership between the Government-appointed Maori Trustee and Maori business groups the Federation of Maori Authorities and the Poutama Trust.

The project had a relatively high cost of delivery as funding was weighted toward paying for advisory services.

Te Puni Kokiri chief executive Leith Comer said he was "more than happy to accept the recommendations of the independent review team".

A spokeswoman for Te Puni Kokiri was last night unable to say whether it would accept the recommendation for a review of its contract and monitoring capability.