The first State witness in the case of former SODELPA MP Simione Rasova, Viniana Namosimalua, who is the former Parliament Secretary-General has revealed to the Suva Magistrates Court today that there was training done back in 2018 and the purpose of it was to introduce the new Members of Parliament on how things work in Parliament.
Namosimalua told the court that one of the topics discussed was the entitlements of the MPs based on the law and there were presentations as well from managers of different units in Parliament that provided services to MPs.
She says that presentations were from the Human Resources Unit, the Assets Team, the Accounting Unit and also the Finance Team specifically to talk about the entitlements of these MPs.
She also says she was aware of the materials provided for the training and one of them was the Administrative Guideline for processing of claims for Parliament Members with the stamp of the Parliament.
When questioned by FICAC lawyer, Josann Pene if she could confirm if she is the one who confirms the MPs' allowances and financial assistance, she said yes and it was with her signature.
Namosimalua also confirmed that she dealt with the Subsistence Allowance and Travelling Expenses claim forms of Rasova from 2018 to 2020.
FICAC lawyer Pene presented a few claim forms of Rasova and Namosimalua confirmed that she had signed the forms for approval.
Rasova is charged with one count of providing false information to a public servant, allegedly lying about his residence, and obtaining a financial gain.
He is alleged to have falsely stated that his permanent place of residence was in Nasenivolau, Nabouwalu village, Ono, Kadavu and obtained $21,350 in parliamentary allowances between July 2019 and April 2020.
The case continues tomorrow.
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