Following a call by Opposition MP Alvick Maharaj to halt future grants to Pacific Polytech, and allegations regarding staff pay, Pacific Polytech Chair, Doctor Ganesh Chand says no individual MP or any person has any authority to stop the institution from getting the $7 million government grant and those conspiring to hold this grant would be acting outside the law.
In a statement, Maharaj has demanded the Government to immediately debate the findings of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs report, which he says reveals issues regarding Pacific Polytech.
Maharaj claims the Government is intentionally delaying the debate on a tabled report from the Standing Committee on Social Affairs.
The MP claims the Government is sitting on this report to protect a private entity at the expense of the taxpayer.
Maharaj says Doctor Chand has gone on record via social media to question his fitness for office simply because he has demanded transparency and accountability regarding the millions of dollars in public funds being poured into this private entity, while other institutions are handed peanuts in the name of grants.
The MP is calling for accountability and transparency and says he is not hiding behind parliamentary privilege but its his duty to call out what is wrong.
Maharaj is calling for all future government grants to Pacific Polytech to be stopped until a full audit is completed, the Auditor-General and the Higher Education Commission to investigate how past funding was used, how recent properties were bought, and what happened to tuition fees paid through government scholarships.
Doctor Chand says the Appropriation Act has allocated Pacific Polytech funds.
While responding to questions by fijivillage News, Doctor Chand says Pacific Polytech is a duly registered entity and over 90 percent of all students are taking courses developed by the Higher Education Commission and assessed by the Commission.
He says Maharaj has been weaving lies about Polytech for sometime.
He confirms they have instructed their lawyers to sue him for defamation.
Meanwhile, former Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad, who delivered the 2025-2026 National Budget, says the Ministry of Finance is not responsible for releasing grants to Pacific Polytech, and Maharaj is misrepresenting the budget process.
He explains that once Parliament approves the budget, grant payments are handled by the relevant ministries through agreements overseen by the Solicitor-General.
Professor Prasad says for higher education institutions, this responsibility sits with the Ministry of Education and the Higher Education Commission.
He says any delays or issues with Pacific Polytech must be dealt with by those bodies, not the Ministry of Finance, and adds that the institution has played an important role in rebuilding technical and vocational education in Fiji.
Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel is away overseas.
The Higher Education Commission is yet to respond to our questions.
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