Suva City Council acting chief executive officer and special administrators chairperson Tevita Boseiwaqa is the highest paid among his counterparts in Fiji’s 13 municipal councils, with a salary of $159,386.
This was revealed by Minister for Local Government and Housing, Maciu Nalumisa in a written response to Opposition MP Premila Kumar, who asked for the salaries and dates of appointments of council executive chairpersons, as well as the total expenditure for special administrators.
Apart from Mr Boseiwaqa, Nasinu Town Council acting CEO Felix Magnus, who was appointed on July 4 this year, is on a $79,549.80 annual salary.
For Tavua Town Council acting CEO Sireli Korovulavula, Mr Nalumisa said his salary had not been activated as approval from the Higher Salaries Commission was pending.
“He is only paid the SA allowance of $12,000 per annum until the approval from the Higher Salaries Commission,” Mr Nalumisa said.
The response also outlined that the salaries and allowances paid out to the acting CEOs were different from the special administrator allowances.
Suva City Council acting CEO received $92,305.66 as salary and $6305 in allowances. The Nasinu Town Council acting CEO received a salary of $90,750 and $19,538 in allowances while the Tavua Town Council acting CEO did not receive a salary but received $409 in allowances.
Mr Nalumisa said these special administrators were appointed in December 2023 and this was done purely based on merit and through a due diligence process.
He said locals with an understanding of community needs were chosen as special administrators.
Mr Nalumisa said the salary and entitlements of special administrators was determined by the Higher Salaries Commission and was based on the size of the councils — small, medium and large.
“In addition, the salary of the chief executive officer and acting CEO is also determined by the Higher Salaries Commission.
“This salary is calculated similar to the civil service acting, that is, 95 per cent of the difference of the salary of the special administrator and the CEO is added to the base salary of the special administrator.”
Mr Nalumisa said prior to the appointment of the acting CEOs, the ministry sought legal advice from the Office of the Solicitor-General on the legal implications of the same.
“The decision to appoint acting CEOs for the three councils is an interim arrangement only. The appointment will end as soon as the councils are able to recruit a qualified and suitable CEOs to lead the respective organisations.”
He also confirmed that municipal councils had engaged the services of KPMG Advisory (Fiji) Pte Ltd, as the recruiting agency to support the recruitment of the CEOs.
“This independent and transparent process is to enable the councils to recruit personnel who have the skills and experience required for the position.
“The recruitment process is planned to start this month and is anticipated to be concluded by early 2025.”
