Secretary to Parliament Viniana Namosimalua is yet to confirm whether the Opposition Leader’s visit to the North last week was funded by the Opposition Office.
A Party official from the North, who wishes to be unnamed, confirmed that they were not aware of her visit.
However, during the management board meeting yesterday, the officials from Vanua Levu were advised that Ro Teimumu was toured the North as the Opposition Leader and not as a SODELPA member.
SODELPA general secretary Pio Tabaiwalu said the visit was organised by the Opposition Office. He did not elaborate.
During a press conference yesterday, the Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, said the visit was not a visit sanctioned through a parliamentary standing committee; it was also not a visit that Parliament had voted for and said that the visit should take place. They went as SODELPA members.
“It is carried out by the Leader of Opposition and whoever had gone with her, went on their own volition so no civil servant is obliged to cater for them; no civil servant should go and respond to their questions, nor to give them an update on Government projects, those responses as we said in Parliament can be sought through the relevant ministers.
“If they want information, they need to follow the proper channel and as you said, the proper channel in this instance if you want to ask questions, is you’ve got to do it through Parliament during question time and not make some site visit that has not been sanctioned by Parliament,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.