Minister for Public Works, Ro Filipe Tuisawau says the Government will continue to engage private contractors in the public sector, striking the right balance for a more cost-effective and responsible use of taxpayer funds.
Responding to questions in Parliament on the future of the Fiji Roads Authority if the Public Works Department is to be fully re-established and if the Government is thinking of not engaging private contractors anymore to do any work concerning both bodies, Tuisawau said this was not true.
Tuisawau said the Government will continue to work towards finding the right balance.
He said moving forward responsibly regarding taxpayer funds, they will need to have the right measures in place to complement rather than duplicate.
“This is the fundamental issue at hand.”
The Minister said that a special audit that was carried out last year found that $400 million was used and some decisions were questionable.
Tuisawau said the special audit found that the private contractors that were engaged were linked to the FijiFirst Party and were contributing substantially to the FijiFirst campaign.
This was challenged by Opposition MP Faiyaz Koya who said that contracting companies are not involved with political parties but individuals who contribute to it.
Speaker of Parliament Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu at that point intervened and said that the Minister must have evidence to back his claims that individuals or companies are affiliated with political parties.
In response, Tuisawau said that wrong decisions were taken that cost the Government an astronomical amount and questioned whether an effective or cost-benefit analysis was conducted properly.
“The question is the cost of engaging the private contractor against the cost of keeping the PWD? That would involve a really good study,” he added.
