THE Fiji Taxi Association is facing a major problem with operators not paying their membership fee, says general secretary Dipak Kumar.
In an interview at the Annual General Meeting held in Lautoka recently, Mr Kumar said there were a lot of people who only wanted benefits from the association.
“But when the time comes to pay the membership fee, they don’t pay,” he said.
“The membership for the year is $20 – each operator obviously makes about $10,000 to $12,000 annually, and you can’t pay a $20 sub. This is where our downfall is.”
He said the outgoing president, Raben Bhan Singh, had been paying the expenses of the association from his own pocket.
“Mr Singh, who is now the trustee, under his leadership, we have paid money to various branches to conduct the AGM.
“So, now with another set of executives, we will be moving forward to get to another new level.”
Meanwhile, former president Mr Singh confidently told the members that the association “has no money”.
“Because at the moment we cannot withdraw any money from the bank because our secretary (Ashwin Lal) had died, and all these expenses for the AGM, I did from my pocket, not the association.
“This hall (Lautoka Club) is my private hall, and nothing has been used from the association.
“The hall expenses have been done by me for the past eight years,” he said.
