Opposition MPs question $500k grant in Parliament

The Ministry of Education cannot fully account for how $450,000 in public funds allocated to the School Management Association of Fiji (SMAF) has been spent, Parliament heard this week.

Opposition MPs questioned Education Minister Aseri Radrodro over the $500,000 grant, the first of its kind awarded to SMAF, after he admitted he did not have detailed information on what the association had achieved with three tranches of funding already released.

“I do not have the nitty-gritty information,” Mr Radrodro told Parliament, adding that a full account of the association’s achievements would only be available at the end of the financial year.

The grant is intended to fund school governance training, a centralised database, a digital platform and an annual conference.

Three payments totalling $450,000 have been approved or processed — $200,000 in October, $125,000 in April and another $125,000 currently being processed. A final $50,000 remains unpaid.

Opposition MP Premila Kumar repeatedly questioned the basis for releasing the funds, saying payments should only be made after results were demonstrated.

“Three tranches of money have been released — on what basis?” Ms Kumar asked.

Mr Radrodro said the disbursements were based on acquittals — formal reports submitted by SMAF showing the money was spent in accordance with the funding agreement — and that audited accounts had been provided to the Ministry.

Opposition MP Ketan Lal called on the Minister to table a full breakdown of expenditure.

Mr Radrodro said this would form part of the grant agreement process.