A MEMBER of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence has called for an investigation into the sale of 52 acres of land belonging to the Savusavu Town Council to families of its former executives.
The matter came to light during discussions on the council’s 2014 and 2015 annual reports.
Council chairperson Shiu Shankar Singh said Savusavu ratepayers did not agree to the sale price.
He said the land was today valued at $7million, however, he did not say which year the land sale took place, nor the value of the land at the time it was sold.
It is also unclear why the matter was brought to the attention of the committee at a time when they were discussing the 2014 and 2015 reports.
Mr Singh, while appearing before the committee to respond to the 2014 and 2015 annual reports, said some staff from within the municipality and their families allegedly bought land at concessionary rates.
In support to the statement, another council representative, Shiu Dayal Sharma, said the same piece of land was worth more than $7million.
“This underscores the extent of the loss to the municipality,” he said.
Mr Sharma said new internal controls had been put in place which included separate accounts for land sales to ensure transparency and prevent similar issues in the future. However, MP Rinesh Sharma asked whether it would be appropriate to identify the ex-executives and summon those responsible to explain the reason the land was sold at a cheaper price.
Mr Sharma said the matter should be handed over to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption for further investigations.
