Finance big challenge
This is the final part of a three-part series on the increase in SODELPA’s staff levels, its relationship with the parliamentary arm in the Opposition Office and their associated costs.
As far as the parliamentary arm is concerned, the 21 MPs bring in an annual revenue of $315,000. This comes in the form of parliamentary grant calculated at $15,000 per MP, to help the MPs perform better in their roles for which they were elected.
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The debate on who controls this finance, party HQ or Opposition Office, appears to have been settled. It’s the party HQ.
While party HQ has established new positions to cater for increased workload required by the 21 MPs, the list of advertised positions would also cover party HQ administration, BTL understands.
SODELPA would need more than the parliamentary grant to sustain the increasing cost. That’s its biggest challenge going forward.
It needs more money and already funds are being solicited from the 21 MPs.
They have committed to donate $10,000 each from their $50,000 annual salary towards the party coffers. The Opposition leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, will donate $20,000. This is quite stiff for some Opposition MPs who do not have another source of income and rely solely on their salary to carry out their work.
That was the reason SODELPA MPs supported a Government motion to increase parliamentary allowances in the last Parliament.
They defied a directive by SODELPA president Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu in the eleventh hour to oppose the motion.
He said then it would not be a good look to be asking for allowance increase when some Tropical Cyclone Winston victims were still living in tents.
He wrote his letter to the parliamentary caucus when he was still suspended from Parliament. When he got back to Parliament he received the new allowance.
The increased allowance had come in handy, especially when they were building up to the 2018 General Election.
Many of the MPs will argue that the costs of travel, accommodation, food and meeting cultural, traditional and religious obligations can be quite substantial.
So any help to defray their expenses will be welcomed. There is even suggestion that the salary should be increased.
On the party HQ side the number of fundraising events and the trips to the United States to solicit funds from its supporters there underscored the financial situation the party was in.
BTL understands this will be the party’s big challenge in the next four years.
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