Pipi certain it can pay debt to IRD

The Pipi Foundation is confident it can pay its debts to Inland Revenue, despite not having any income.

The trust, which made headlines after former MP Donna Awatere Huata and husband Wi Huata were convicted of defrauding it, was back in the news this week after the revelation it had offered to pay Awatere Huata $60,000 for services rendered.

Awatere Huata turned down the offer. She and her husband took their case to the Court of Appeal this week.

Foundation chairman Des Ratima said the trust did not have a "slush fund", but was confident it could meet its commitments to the IRD.

While the four or five schools using the programme were not paying for it, the trust was exploring other ways to generate revenue to pay its debts, he said.

"There is money owing to IRD, that is no secret," Mr Ratima said.

"We have been in negotiations with IRD about how we can service that debt and we have discussed certain strategies with them. What we haven't done is look at the breakdown of that debt. We've just accepted what IRD have said and we're working along that way.

"We're a long way from a settlement, but it's important for people to recognise that we acknowledge that, and we are working with IRD in that regard."

Yesterday Mr Ratima told National Radio that the foundation's debt to the tax department was more than the $60,000 it had offered to pay Awatere Huata.

An Inland Revenue spokeswoman said the Pipi Foundation was still a functioning trust, and what it chose to do with its money would only be an issue for the department if the body was wound up still owing the IRD money.

Pipi, which received more than $840,000 in Government funding over three years, was once a provider of a highly regarded reading education programme.