A report by the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission on the investigation regarding Lagilagi Housing has found anomalies pertaining to governance, risk management and numerous financial issues, which will now be referred to Police and other authorities for individual investigations.
While speaking on the report, Minister for Industry Trade and Tourism Premila Kumar has stressed that this is one such instance where government partnered with a NGO, People’s Community Network and PCN has let down the Fijian people.
Kumar adds that some of the financial issues that were highlighted in the report include improper record-keeping of finances, making unauthorised alterations to receipts, suspicious unexplained transactions in PCN staff personal accounts, anomalies in processes for issuing offer letters and housing units and unaudited financial statements.
She also revealed that the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission investigation showed that PCN staff were given loans from PCN trading accounts and this has not been accounted for.
Kumar also stresses that a number of people who have paid a substantial amount of money to PCN for a housing unit are actually not ineligible.
She says the Ministry has decided that it will take over the operations of the Lagilagi Housing Project from People’s Community Network.
The Minister says that government will pursue means of housing more than 70 families who were promised a housing unit but never received one adding that the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission will pursue court proceedings to have the ineligible residents at Lagilagi Housing evicted.
Kumar has also stressed that the Commission is working with the Police Fraud Unit to carry out individual investigations of the 370 complaints that have been received.
She adds that the relevant authorities will also file charges against the directors and board members of PCN for any unethical practices found to be in breach of the law.
The Minister for Trade says that government has paid $12.7m for the project completion, however PCN had run out of funds prior to the completion of the project.
Kumar stressed that government will not tolerate any abuse of funds, especially when it was given to build low cost housing for Fijians living in the vicinity adding that those found engaged in such activity will face the full brunt of the law.
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