The Office of the Auditor-General is looking into a request made to investigate the $500,000 approved by the regional council for its investment arm.
At the January council meeting, Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company requested the half-million dollars for it to effectively "start the construction phase" of the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme.
It was noted in the company's report to the regional body that last November the council resolved to approve an increase in the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme's budget by $1.3 million, of which $922,000 was sought from the Ministry for Primary Industries' Irrigation Acceleration Fund. However, according to its latest report, the company was unable to secure the full $922,000 applied for from the fund and have been left with a shortfall of $347,000.
As such, they asked for the council to approve a further borrowing of $500,000, which it did. This approval seemingly raised the ire of someone who made the request to the Office of the Auditor-General.
In the interest of confidentiality, that person's name is withheld. However, in a tweet to Auditor-General Lynette Diana Provost, Hawke's Bay resident Andrew Frame raised his concerns.