Questions have been raised on why the salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament were increased and whether there will be another pay rise if the government is re-elected.
Paul Seforana raised this concern during the Fijian Media Association’s Meet the Public and the Press town hall session in Ba.
He said to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka that before the 2022 general elections, their parties were raising the issue that the previous government ministers had very high salaries and allowances, but the same people ended up increasing their salaries and allowances.
Rabuka responded that approving the increases was not an easy decision for the government.
Rabuka says salaries and allowances are matters handled by Parliament, not necessarily by the government.
He explained that sometimes when recommendations are made, the government is asked to reconsider them.
The Prime Minister says it was a very lively debate in Parliament, but in the end, the numbers carried the motion through.
He says that he believes the increases were properly justified during the debate and clarified that it is not an automatic process. Seforana also questioned the reappointment of a Cabinet Minister who was previously dismissed for misconduct, asking what message this sends to the younger generation.
In response, the Prime Minister mentioned that “Every sinner has a future, and every saint had a past.”
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