Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has clarified today that not all Members of Parliament are having their phones and laptops changed, only those that need it.
This comes as Fiji Labour Party Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry has asked whether taxpayers should be paying for the personal laptops and latest high-end mobile phones for MPs.
Rabuka says his are working very well, so he does not need to have them changed.
The Prime Minister says it’s not a personal issue that they take away as it will all be returned.
Chaudhry says he is surprised that Parliament is going ahead with the recommendations of its Parliamentary Emoluments Committee that each member be given a personal laptop and the latest high-end mobile phones.
Chaudhry asks if is this the kind of priority the government should be concerned with when there are much more pressing national issues for which funds are required.
He says just a week or so ago we heard the Fiji Teachers Union General Secretary complaining that the government had still not released 50 percent of the Free Education Grant for Term 2.
Chaudhry says the supply of personal laptops and top-of-the-range mobile phones for MPs at taxpayers' expense is totally unwarranted given the current critical state of national finances.
He says for one, the MPs have ready access to computers, staffing services and other facilities at their parliamentary office.
Chaudhry says earlier this year they awarded themselves huge pay increases and allowances, and constituency allowances despite strong opposition from the people.
He stresses they should be able to purchase their own laptops and mobile phones.
He also asks why is the money being given to the parties in parliament not used to buy personal computers and mobile phones for party MPs as each of these parties now gets $325,000 annually from the national budget.
Chaudhry says one should also not forget that MPs have allowed themselves duty-free imports of vehicles.
The FLP Leader says the MPs are among the richest and most highly endowed ‘executives’ in our country, and this latest dip in the public purse smacks too much of self-enrichment at the expense of the poor taxpayer.
He says he is not sure whether it is an upgrade but that is the decision of the Parliament.
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