Mahendra Chaudhry, the leader of the Fiji Labour Party, has raised concerns regarding Parliament’s priorities after the decision to provide each Member of Parliament (MP) with a laptop and a mobile phone. He highlighted that there are more urgent national issues that require funding.
Chaudhry pointed out that just recently, the general secretary of the Fiji Teachers’ Union expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s failure to release 50 percent of the Free Education Grant for the second term. He criticized the move to supply MPs with personal laptops and high-end mobile phones at the expense of taxpayers, arguing that MPs already have access to computers and resources at their parliamentary offices.
He further noted that earlier this year, MPs granted themselves significant pay raises and additional allowances, despite public opposition. Chaudhry suggested that MPs should be responsible for purchasing their own devices.
He emphasized that each political party receives $325,000 annually from the national budget, in addition to duty-free vehicle imports for MPs, making them some of the most financially privileged individuals in the country.