Carnival profits not returned to Levuka Town Council
Special administrator Nemani Bulivou says profits from the 2019 event were distributed to queen contestants from Ovalau villages.
Friday 09 October 2026 | 07:00
Members of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs with Levuka Town Council Special Administrator Nemani Bulivou, second from left, and Administrators Chairman Ben Naidu (fourth from left).
Photo: Parliament of the Republic of Fiji
Profits from the 2019 Back to Levuka Carnival were not returned to the Levuka Town Council for town beautification but distributed among carnival queen contestants.
Levuka Town Council special administrator Nemani Bulivou told the Standing Committee on Social Affairs that the council made no financial contribution to the carnival that year, with the event fully funded by Vodafone Fiji.
Committee member Parveen Bala asked whether the carnival committee had returned funds raised or any surplus to the council.
Mr Bulivou said the profits were distributed to the queen contestants.
“The model that our predecessors used was whatever they made as profit from the carnival. It was then distributed back to where the queens came in from,” he said.
Mr Bulivou said the contestants came from various villages around Ovalau and the arrangement was intended as an incentive for women to participate.
He said the profits did not go towards the affairs of the Town Council.
Mr Bulivou said it could be difficult to encourage women from villages to participate in the carnival, making the distribution of profits a form of benefit for contestants.
He confirmed that the council’s contribution to the carnival that year was nil because the donor provided all funding.
