Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Communications, Manoa Kamikamica confirms that the Walesi technical and financial findings will be handed over to FICAC this afternoon for further investigation.
While speaking in parliament on the Walesi report, Kamikamica says he is reporting the matter to FICAC due to the high level of mismanagement, waste, and potential breaches, where $80 million or about 68 percent of the spend on Walesi in 2022 can be considered waste and abuse.
He reveals that a total of $9.3 million could not be substantiated, as relevant documentation was missing.
Kamikamica says this lack of record made it impossible to confirm whether these payments complied with the fund's intended purpose and the audit was also unable to identify the actual cost of the project against the budget.
Kamikamica says it’s a disgrace and the people of this nation deserve better than the hollow records they have left behind and under the guise of modernisation, they pursued an agenda of control.
He says the now repealed Media Industry Development Act is a testament to this.
He says there was mismanagement of public funds from 2015 to 2022 in December, where the then government disbursed a staggering $123.6 million to wireless transmission.
He says there was no budget.
The Deputy Prime Minister says Walesi has failed to obtain the necessary operating and spectrum licences for its operations - it was operating illegally and forced families earning over $30,000 to purchase proprietary services which are supposedly free-to-air services.
He says the network was implemented using a multi-frequency network, a model which has significantly higher operational costs compared to the more efficient single-frequency network which is recognised globally for providing better coverage and cost efficiency.
Kamikamica further says the special audit or the financial audit into wireless operations paints a very bleak picture, one of fiscal irresponsibility, poor governance and outright waste.
He says the 100 percent government-owned company was not even covered under the Public Enterprises Act, further weakening oversight mechanisms and accounting structures.
He says the findings of these investigations are a sad indictment of the previous regime.
Kamikamica adds that the money wasted could have been used for hospitals, roads and bridges.
Opposition MP, Faiyaz Koya told Kamikamica to send the report for investigation.
Koya reminded the Minister that Walesi has provided free digital television service to all Fijians and as of March 2023 it has reached out to 90 percent of Fijians.
He says this allows rural and outer island areas more access to television.
Meanwhile, Opposition MP Aliki Bia says the findings have been clearly articulated and he is looking forward to the progress of the investigation.
The technical assessment was conducted with the assistance of the International Telecommunication Union and the engagement of an international expert in digital terrestrial television who has uncovered systemic flaws in the design and implementation of Walesi's digital television network.
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