Editorial: Prasad Needs To Make U-Turn Decision

Minister for Finance Biman Prasad may have admitted to the systematic flaws engineered by the previous administration tailored to benefit a select few but what we can’t get over is, he has chosen to let it be.

Now that he is in a position of power and can right the alleged wrongs of the previous administration, the man who harped on about investigating the previous government’s alleged misappropriation of public funds, is choosing to move on?

Why so?

To what can possess a man who so passionately and repeatedly said he would take the former powers to task, all those years while in Opposition, and again last year, is unfathomable.

Over the past few weeks, Fiji Sun has been publishing an investigative series on the mismanaged funds of the now dissolved Construction Implementation Unit, which was under the then Ministry of Economy.

The unit was formed following Tropical Cyclone Winston to help rebuild homes for Fijians. One of that initiative was the Help for Homes.

The staggering figures of CIU-managed projects during the 2017/2018 financial year alone - was 523 projects valued at $362 million. A bulk of it, unaccounted for.

But the Minister for Finance emphasised a commitment to accountability without even veering into a witch hunt.

To say the misuse of public funds had been witnessed firsthand and in the next breath seemingly do nothing about it is concerning.

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Instead, he emphasised the need for the Coalition Government to overhaul infrastructure and systemic deficiencies.

Perhaps resources and time would be the most valid answer to his stance.

The magnitude of these projects and its value would likely require a dedicated team with additional resources to investigate.

This could take months or even years until substantial and incriminating evidence is brought to light, that is, if the former system, which was manipulated, could be tapped into.

But how can we uphold the integrity of Government if no one is held accountable? How can we future-proof new systems to ensure no one can manipulate it to suit their agenda?

Mr Prasad said there was a need for a pragmatic approach, directing attention towards rectifying past wrongs through proper channels rather than dwelling on the past.

Still, ignoring the wrongs of the past and working on the future sets a bad precedent for the Coalition Government who had promised the nation it will do its due diligence to correct the alleged wrongs of the previous administration.

We can’t just let this slip or we may as well leave it to the politicians and those in positions of power to continue taking advantage of the systematic flaws and use it to their own advantage.

Feedback: ranobab@fijisun.com.fj