Fijian Opposition leader Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu says so much has been said about the lack of transparency, accountability and corruption and cronyism over the past 15 years or so.
While delivering his response to the 2022-2023 budget in Parliament yesterday, he said one only needs to review the Auditor-General reports in the past 10 years to confirm what he was saying.
He said there were three cases that were still fresh in the public’s mind.
“The $33m digger scam in WAF, which is still under investigation by FICAC, which has taken more than three years,” Ratu Naiqama said.
“The lack of transparency and the secrecy in the way EFL (Energy Fiji Ltd) shares were sold to a Japanese consortium.
“Questions are still lingering in the public’s mind whether a proper evaluation of assets was carried out prior to the sale and why was the sale personally arranged by the Minister for Economy while on medical treatment in Singapore.”
Ratu Naiqama said concerns had also been raised by the public on the sale of Fiji Airways’ shares to members of the superannuation fund (FNPF).
“The general sentiment expressed is the secrecy and the lack of clarity in the sale, particularly the lack of risk assessment in association with the sale – taking into account the substantial government guarantee.
“How shares have been allotted, taking into account the shareholding position of Air Pacific in Fiji Airways and, among other technical details which were not fully disclosed to the workers of this country.”
