The Fijian Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) has given up 40 per cent of what was allocated to the company in the national budget.
During a news conference on Friday in the presence of Minister of Finance Professor Biman Prasad, FBC board chairman Ajay Bhai Amrit stated that this was done in accordance with the present government’s goals of ensuring that public monies were spent properly.
Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) was allocated $10.4 million in the 2023–24 National Budget, but following this announcement, FBC would only receive $6.2m.
Mr Amrit said the decision was made after careful examination of their expanses and eliminating excessive spending.
“Initially, the PSB amount in the 2023 budget was announced at $10.4m, which we have successfully brought this down by 40 per cent,” he said.
“The achievement is a result of careful examination of our expenses and eliminating excessive spending such as executive luxury cars, wasteful and inefficient expenditure.
“We will certainly be able to work within the confines of that 40 per cent reduction. No problem at all.
“We’ve been working with the Ministry of Finance, we worked on these figures, and we’re very comfortable with that.”
He said the reduction would not have an impact on any of their services. It will not impact any of our services. And what you got to remember is that we are growing the pie, so we are getting bigger and better in terms of our income coming in, and then we’re reducing our expenditure.
“During the first six months of 2023, we have also increased our revenue streams. This thorough review has enabled us to determine that $6.2 million is the estimated amount needed to continue our PSB obligations without any compromise to quality and diversity of content with no reduction in quality or delivery of our services.
“We are pleased to share that the adjustments to our operational strategies are already showing positive results. As FBC announced earlier, we are financially ahead by $1 million for the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.
“The accomplishment is a testament to the tremendous work and dedication by our staff and management.”
