Minister for Trade, Co-operatives, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Communications Manoa Kamikamica has announced that the public can expect the report on the investigations into Walesi to be presented at the next Parliament sitting.
Speaking in Suva yesterday, Mr. Kamikamica stated that he was awaiting the financial component of the report, which is currently being handled by the Office of the Attorney-General. He indicated that once the report is received and tabled in Parliament, appropriate actions would follow.
“I’ve got the technical report, and we’re just waiting on the financial report. I’m assuming it’s a matter of weeks,” he said. “I hope to deliver some sort of statement at the next Parliament sitting. I can’t do it in the budget sitting next week but certainly in the next Parliament.”
Mr. Kamikamica added that a board, led by former Telecom Fiji Ltd CEO Taito Tabaleka and including lawyers and members of the financial sector, has been appointed to decide the future course for Walesi.
“Because what we need to do is find out and really work out what we need to do with Walesi,” he said. “Before we came in, we were spending $14 million a year on Walesi without any plans whatsoever. So, as a responsible government, we need to, if we can, save $5 million. That’s a very good outcome by refining operations or whatever we do with Walesi, but that’s the board’s job.”
Last year, Mr. Kamikamica announced an investigation to determine whether due process had been followed regarding the expenditure of funds, the tender process, the selection of vendors, and procurement since Walesi was established in 2015. During a parliamentary sitting last year, he mentioned that the previous government had spent around $125 million on the establishment and rollout of Walesi since 2015.