Praneeta Prakash 
[Photo: PARLIAMENT OF FIJI/ FACEBOOK]
The Fiji Public Trustee Corporation is facing growing revenue challenges as income from key trust funds continues to decline.
Chief Executive Ajay Singh highlighted this to the Standing Committee on Social Affairs while presenting the corporation’s 2020 Annual Report.
Singh says fee income from trust and estate services remains the Fiji Public Trustee Corporation’s primary source of revenue.
“I think 2020 was a good year, we did very well, 69% is a very good percentage of that fees income, but it has declined over the years because the FNPF minor trust funds, which was our core revenue, is not with us now, and the FNPF trust funds has been depleting, and I think very soon we will have no minor trust left with us, we would have been paid all.”
Singh acknowledged that the depletion of FNPF minor trust funds poses a major concern for the organization’s future revenue.
“It’s a major concern for us, because the FNPF Act changed in 2011, and 18 years, the funds that we received, last funds that we received from FNPF in 2011, 18 years down the line we would have paid all the trust monies to all the beneficiaries, so there will be no income for us from the trust business, so our trust numbers will decline, we will rely upon the estate income, estate fees, which would be not a very major portion of our revenues.”
Singh says submissions had been made to the FNPF in an effort to address the issue, but acknowledged that the likelihood of regaining the trust income stream remains slim.
He says discussions are still underway.
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