COP29: Charan Jeath Singh tells Ketan Lal to refund money spent on him while Lal says Singh added little value at meetings

Minister for Sugar Industry, Charan Jeath Singh has told Opposition bloc of 16 member Ketan Lal to refund his air ticket and per diem claims to the State for attending COP29 while Lal says Singh’s presence in Azerbaijan added little value to Fiji’s efforts.

Singh and Lal are both part of Fiji’s delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad.

Singh says Lal should be ashamed of travelling on the strength of the People's Alliance majority led Government and he should refund his air ticket and per diem claims to the State if he walks his talk.

Singh says he did not even hear Lal on any side events at COP29 and adds he is the same culprit who said to the PM in Parliament ‘lako tuba' several times.

He says Lal is a kid in front of the PM and bets he will be history in the next election.

Singh further says unlike Ketan, he did not get 600 votes to get into Parliament.

He says he came to COP29 on his own strength with the Prime Minister’s approval and that his concern was Sugar Industry got zero dollars funding for the past decade and with this COP29 negotiations underway, he cannot see much hope in this either.

He says he is not like Lal who is as a lapdog of another political party, wasting Fiji's taxpayers fund.

Lal, while responding to Singh’s earlier criticism on spending during COP29, says his recent criticism of Fiji’s negotiators and delegation is both hypocritical and deeply disappointing.

He says despite pushing his way into the delegation at the last minute, after it had already been finalized, his presence in Azerbaijan added little value to Fiji’s efforts.

Lal says he travelled in business class, with stopovers in Sydney and Dubai, all at the expense of taxpayers, yet only managed to attend two side events during the entire trip in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Opposition MP says even more troubling is that his speeches at these events were written by the same hardworking staff who were tirelessly negotiating on Fiji’s behalf until the early hours of the morning.

He says while other Ministers and Opposition MPs were highly visible and actively engaged in critical discussions, Singh’s participation was negligible—he was essentially “lost and found” during the whole conference.

Lal says this is a blatant misuse of government funds and resources and Singh not only wasted taxpayers’ money but also collected a hefty allowance for what amounted to a ceremonial appearance.

He says if anyone should be held accountable and removed for failing to represent Fiji effectively, it is Singh and adds that the people of Fiji deserve better.

Questions have been sent to Singh and Lal. They are yet to respond.