Opposition cries ‘foul play’

suva – The opposition parties in Fiji have called changes to the parliamentary funding system a disaster and claim it has plunged the parliament into crisis.

The new system structures payments to parties to reflect their respective size, which has forced the opposition to dismiss support staff.

Amongst the opposition are concerns about not only the move, but how it was done.

The Fiji opposition leader Ro Teimumu Kepa says the changes are illegal.

Ro Teimumu says the Secretary-General to Parliament stopped the contracts of six administrative staff in the Sodelpa Party offices under the directive of the Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

The directive changes the allocation of funds given to the parties, and means each will be given the Fiji dollar equivalent of US$11,000 per MP per annum for support staffing at their discretion.

Ro Teimumu says Sodelpa’s staffing needs will likely exceed their allocation – and the fellow opposition National Federation Party’s allocation will not cover its costs. She says the changes should be overruled.

“We do not agree with it because according to the decree it is illegal for us to receive funding from any other source.”

The leader of the opposition National Federation Party Biman Prasad says the Secretary-General revoked the employment of his four administrative staff.

Prasad says it appears she acted under instruction from the Attorney-General but he says the Secretary-General is meant to decide on operational parliamentary finances and no one else.

“We’ve lost staff and we feel that this is a direct interference in the independence of the legislature.

“It is designed to kill and harass smaller parties like the National Federation Party. What this amounts to is that we cannot now operate effectively and efficiently as a political party.”

Prasad says he will also not be able to carry out his duties as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee properly under the new plan.

In its response, the government has accused the opposition of misleading people with its reaction.

It says a letter shows that the Secretary-General made the decision in her own right. Although the government says she held discussions with Sayed-Khaiyum, it says nothing is unconstitutional or improper.

But a Pacific academic says the new system doesn’t help the state of democracy in Fiji.

Professor Brij Lal from Australian National University says it’s not the best way to provide financing as the size of a party’s parliamentary presence does not necessarily show how much resources they need.

“This is important for a robust parliamentary democracy to have a well-resourced opposition parties of the type you have in Australia and New Zealand.”

Professor Lal says the move is “in line with how the government of Fiji operates”.