Taxpayers standby to fund President’s Commission of Inquiry appeal

Taxpayers will carry the cost if President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu decides to appeal the High Court ruling on the Commission of Inquiry (CoI), Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has confirmed.

Mr Rabuka said yesterday that any appeal by the President would be funded by the Government, meaning taxpayers would ultimately bear the cost of another legal battle over the controversial CoI.

“That appeal will come from the office of the Government,” he said. The confirmation comes as the President has yet to decide whether to appeal the ruling.

Acting Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga said officials had only started reviewing the lengthy judgment on Monday.

“We haven’t finalised our decisions,” Mr Turaga said.

“We just started on Monday going through the judgment. It’s a long judgment. After that, we will decide and make our decisions.”

The uncertainty comes as concerns grow over how much public money has already been spent on the CoI process and whether taxpayers should also fund another round of legal proceedings.

Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel, however, was unable to confirm whether an appeal would be funded by taxpayers. “I’m not sure about it so far,” he said.

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