It has been confirmed that 64 cases are in court while 71 case files have been forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to those who were found abusing the Homes CARE initiative after Tropical Cyclone Winston.
The Ministry of Economy’s Internal Audit Team revealed this to the Public Accounts Committee.
It has also been highlighted that there have been five convictions in relation to the abuse of the Homes CARE initiative.
SODELPA MP and Committee member, Aseri Radrodro then asked the Ministry of Economy why an amnesty period was not given to those who provided false information to get the assistance under the Homes CARE initiative after Cyclone Winston.
Radrodro stated that an amnesty period has been provided for those that have not given correct information under the Care for Fiji initiative after cyclones Josie and Keni.
Ministry of Economy’s Permanent Secretary, Makereta Konrote says that they did not get a lot of complaints that people did not understand the criteria for the assistance under the Homes Care initiative after Cyclone Winston.
However, she informed the Public Accounts Committee that under the Care for Fiji initiative, there were a lot of complaints received by the Ministry of Social Welfare in relation to the eligibility.
Konrote says the Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation had then clarified to the affected people what the criteria was for the assistance.
She says based on the clarification the Ministry had to provide, it was felt that to be fair to those who may have not clearly understood the intention of the assistance that they be given the opportunity to return their cards if they felt some of the information they provided was not accurate.
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