NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad [Source: Parliament of the Republic of Fiji/Facebook]

While Parliament has passed a motion to increase the salaries of Members of Parliament, National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad, states that his party does not support the recommended salary increases outlined in the report.

In a statement, the NFP earlier stated that, in the interest of transparency, the report should not be compiled or signed by the Members of Parliament but by experts and only endorsed by the Members.

NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad while contributing to the debate says the committee, in their firm view, should only be the conduit to take the report to the floor of parliament.

He says the committee should neither hear nor receive submissions on the review of the salaries and allowances of the Prime Minister, Ministers, and Members of Parliament without the active participation of independent experts.

He adds that it should not be the committee’s role but that of the experts to scrutinize the submissions for the review of salaries and allowances.

Prasad says he stands by his party’s stance on this matter.

“I heard what the Honorable Leader of the Opposition said: when we were sitting in the opposition for eight years, the salaries and the decisions that were made in 2014 before the first sitting of the parliament, Mr. Speaker, decision were made by a decree; that was the last decree, which set the salaries of the ministers, the Prime Minister, the allowances, and for the opposition. And when we had another committee of that parliament looking at the allowances and all that, Mr. Speaker, you recall, that then we took a different position and we actually voted against the increase in allowances in 2016.”

Prasad says their position on this matter is in accordance with the directive of the party, and this should not in any way be construed or misinterpreted in terms of their position.