THE reason Parliament is still debating reports from as far back as 2018 in 2026 has been attributed to years of weakened municipal governance and a breakdown in accountability structures.
Member of Parliament, Manoa Kamikamica shared this during the debate on the Labasa Town Council 2018 Annual Report, where he questioned the relevance of discussing aged documents in the House.
Mr Kamikamica said the issue stemmed from past decisions that removed elected town councils, which he argued led to a loss of experienced personnel and oversight.
He said the removal of experienced officials over time weakened municipal operations across the country.
“All the experienced people who were in those town councils got removed progressively.
“So over time, the town councils all over Fiji, became shadows of their former self.”
Mr Kamikamica said this contributed to delays in financial reporting and oversight, leaving Parliament to deal with outdated reports years later.
“As a result of that, we now have a situation where reports are outdated as part of their running of government”
He added that basic administrative functions, including the collection of rates, were also affected, contributing to high arrears across municipalities.
“If you look across all the town councils in Fiji, without exception, the rates are excessively high in terms of arrears.”
Despite the criticism, Mr Kamikamica said there were ongoing efforts to address the backlog and improve reporting timelines through collaboration between the Public Accounts Committee and the relevant minister.
“The Public Accounts Committee is trying to put in place measures so that we ensure that they will no longer have to discuss reports in seven years or over.”
He expressed confidence that improvements were underway, noting that some councils, including Rakiraki, were now up to date with their accounts.
