Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade Manoa Kamikamica says he notes the disappointment from the President of the Fiji Council of Churches and Head of the Catholic Church in Fiji, Archbishop Peter Loy Chong, that the government officials did not attend the casino consultation that was held at the Holiday Inn and he says that it was very hard for some of the Ministers to actually attend because of the clear direction from the Prime Minister.
While responding to the Archbishop, Kamikamica says it is more important to note that the Prime Minister has made some very clear directions in terms of the Government's stand on casinos.
He says right now, there is no discussion on casinos, and he respects the Archbishop and his intention to have a consultation.
The Deputy Prime Minister says if the need for consultation happens, they will conduct their own consultation as they did for medicinal cannabis.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Peter Loy Chong says they went to the Government’s office and asked for their presence during the consultation as they are the key people in terms of development.
He says it's really disappointing that the Fiji Council of Churches is only talking to the David Group Company, who is proposing to build a $2 billion Casino in Nadi, and not with the government officials.
In a press conference in December last year, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka had made a strong stand not to issue any casino license to any entity as the Coalition Government will need to develop a clear and robust policy guideline on the issuance of casino licenses in Fiji following comprehensive consultations with all stakeholders.
Rabuka says there has been a lot of speculation and comments in the public domain in regards to a proposed casino development in the country.
He says in 2011 the Bainimarama Government issued an exclusive gaming license to One Hundred Sands Limited for 15 years and he believes the company had a plan to build a luxury casino resort and a convention centre on Denarau Island.
Rabuka further says in 2015, the FijiFirst government revoked the One Hundred Sands Limited license due to a breach of the license conditions and citing the failure of the company to complete the project and the opening of a casino on time.
He adds while One Hundred Sands Limited applied for judicial review of the decision by the government, it was dismissed by the High Court and thereafter by the Court of Appeal.
The Prime Minister says in the 2017/2018 National Budget announcement, the former Minister for the Economy announced that a casino license would be granted to FNPF for its conference centre investment at the Fiji Marriott Resort on Momi Bay.
He adds this did not eventuate, and the COVID-19 pandemic had put this project on the back burner.
Rabuka also highlighted the processes of being granted a casino license by the previous government, such as an application for a class 2 gaming license made to the Attorney General on the prescribed form, the payment of fees valid at 1 percent of the estimated annual gross turnover for that year as determined by the Attorney General after consideration of FNPF submission in this regard to accompanying the application form, annual fee of 1 percent of annual gross turnover earned from gaming proceeds for the second year of operation also applied, the gaming license fee may be waived or valid on reasonable grounds, and the casino license would specify the period for which the license to be valid and such conditions that the Attorney General sees fit.
The Prime Minister says in April this year, Cabinet had considered the proposal to issue a casino license to FNPF, and it was agreed that a decision must be referred and considered at a later date.
When questioned by fijivillage News if the Government has made any background checks on the company proposing to set up a casino in Fiji, Rabuka says it would be done if an application was received, and, as far as he is concerned, no application has been received by the government on a casino license.
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