Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has moved a motion to significantly decrease the travel allowance for Members of parliament.

Rabuka had promised to review government ministers’ salaries and the travel allowance since coming into power in December last year.

Today, after more than 11 months in office, they are finally tabling a motion, citing legal opinions as the cause of the delay.

The current travel allowance formula was set by the Bainimarama government in 2016.

“This motion then, Mr. Speaker sir is intended to rectify the anomaly in travel allowances brought about in 2016. Under the proposed formula for example, the Prime Minister’s daily subsistence allowance DSA for Auckland, New Zealand is reduced from  $2,826 to $1590. Similarly for Ministers, the new formula reduced their DSA for Auckland from $2090 to $954. This is the same DSA for Honorable Leader of the Opposition. For Assistant Ministers, the allowance declined from $1572 to this is the same DSA for the Opposition Members of Parliament.”

Rabuka says the government will be using the United Nations Development Programme’s Daily Subsistence Allowance formula, as it is widely used by other countries.

“The formula before this August house today significantly reduces the daily allowance while remaining adequate for the officials concerned. The starting point for the calculation of the allowances in Fiji has been pegged at the UNDP daily subsistence allowance. DSA rate UN DP DSA rates are updated and published every quarter and are reliable.”

Meanwhile, opposition leader Inia Seruiratu is questioning the timing of the tabling of this motion, claiming it is a well-calculated political move.

“In January. Why not? In the first hundred days? You made full use of what was available. You’ve milked it dry. You milk it dry and now you come into this house so that you can look good politically while the report of the Emollients committee is still pending. You want to reduce this?”

Rabuka maintains that the government has a legal obligation to ensure its officials have sufficient funds to carry out their duties necessitated by travel.

The Emoluments Committee of Parliament is carrying out its work with the assistance of an independent consultant.

If the house agrees, this revised travel allowance will be effective from December 1st until the committee reports back next year.