A total of $61 million was taken from 17 ministries and entities to fund Government’s financial shortfalls in certain areas in the 2020-2021 National Budget.
This, according to the fourth quarter 2020-2021 appropriation statement that was presented in Parliament recently. According to the report, $11 million was taken out of the “Fiji Recovery Rebate Package” under Miscellaneous to be used for the “Sugar Stabilisation Fund — Fiji Sugar Corporation”.
The Fiji Recovery Rebate Package in the 2020-2021 National Budget had a $60 million allocation that was to be used by Fiji Airways for an initiative where the first 150,000 visitors would have received $400 each to go towards packages including flights, hotels, meals and beverages.
The $788,990 that was set aside for “Construction of Aged Care Home” and $71,009 for “Vat” (Value Added Tax) under the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation was used for “First Home Purchase” under the Ministry of Housing and Community Development.
The report also said there was no money to pay prisoners who had harvested cane and $123,229 was redeployed from “Construction of Aged Care Home / Vat” from the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation to be used for “Cane Harvest – Correction Services”.
The appropriation statement also said the Ministry of Housing and Community Development did not have money to pay value-added tax and $11,090.61 was vired from the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation for that purpose.
