General Secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

FijiFirst Members of Parliament will be returning the annual parliamentary grants that will be disbursed to them.

General Secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the grants are part of the funds disbursed by Secretary General of Parliament Jeannette Emberson to the four political parties in Parliament.

Over $2 million was given after consultations with the Ministry of Finance and senior executives in Parliament.

Sayed-Khaiyum confirms that the FijiFirst MPs have already received the first monthly installment of $833 each in their individual bank accounts.

He adds that Fijians need to be aware of the backdoor way in which all 55 MPs are going to receive an increase of $10,000 per annum in cash, as it has not been approved by the Emoluments Committee.

“Our MPs will return those funds in due course. We need to get access to everyone’s accounts and return the funds. It’s not taking away parliamentary power,  $10,000, if you had wanted to give it to a political party, you can give it to a political party, instead of giving it to the individual.”

Meanwhile, Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry says he has written to the Acting Supervisor of Elections to investigate the payment of the annual parliamentary grants to the four political parties.

Chaudhry says the payment is unlawful and a trick to enable parties in the coalition to clear their election debts and accumulate funds to fight the next election.

The former Prime Minister says under the Political Parties Act, political parties can only be funded from the proceeds of membership fees, investments, or donations from individuals who are citizens or former citizens of Fiji, and the donations cannot exceed $10,000 per individual per year.

FBC News has sent questions to the Parliamentary Secretary General, Jeannette Emberson, for a comment.