A redeployment of funds from the 2022-2023 budget will allow the government to immediately release a budget of $10 million to the University of the South Pacific.

Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, says the government is in talks with USP and hopes to reach an agreement on a repayment plan that will be funded in future budgets in addition to USP’s regular annual grant, which will be reinstated in the 2023-2024 budget.

Rabuka confirms that there will be no mini-budget this year because funds will be redeployed to meet the government’s immediate priorities.

He claims that the redeployment will also accommodate additional funding requests from ministries and other agencies.