Political party leaders have expressed concern about why Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) failed to consult its members about its acquisition of 30.02 per cent of Fiji Airways.
They made the comment after the funds chief executive officer Viliame Vodonaivalu told the media yesterday that “that they do not go to the market to talk about their intentions” when asked why no consultations took place.
Social Democratic Liberal Party leader Viliame Gavoka said his party wanted FNPF’s investment to be safe and Fiji Airways to thrive.
Mr Gavoka said members of FNPF would be better protected with someone like Qantas as an active shareholder.
He said the airline business was very complex and often beyond the capacity of small economies like Fiji, so there was a need for a major player such as Qantas to share the risks.
“Let’s seek worthy partners to help manage this complex business and reduce the risks,” he said.
National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad said the governance of FNPF continued to be authoritarian with exclusive government control of a fund owned 100 per cent by the workers of Fiji who did not have any say whatsoever on how their funds were invested.
“Non-disclosure agreement with who?” Prof Prasad asked.
“Commercial deals must be done in confidence when there is competition for an opportunity or other reasons for commercial sensitivity and private companies, using their own money, owe no duty of disclosure to anyone else.
“But this is completely different. This is the pension fund owned by tens of thousands of Fiji workers, they deserve to know how their money is being spent and nobody else is competing to buy shares in our struggling national airline.”
Prof Prasad said the excuse was “flimsy, lame and clearly an attempt to evade transparency and accountability”.
The People’s Alliance party leader Sitiveni Rabuka said Mr Vodonaivalu’s attempt to explain away the purchasing of shares in Fiji Airways was “not good enough”.
“We all know that the fund is bound to not disclose investment intentions,” he said.
“All The People’s Alliance has said and will continue to say is, why the secrecy in all of this?
“As trustees for the workers’ funds, the board and management of FNPF owe it to the workers of this country to be up front and be transparent about the deal.
“To get to know of this major development almost casually in a social function is unacceptable and disrespectful.”
Mr Rabuka said despite the news conference called by Mr Vodonaivalu, other pressing questions remained unanswered.
“He tries to justify the deal by claiming that FNPF will get the return on its investment once all countries re-opened their borders. How does he know that Fiji Airways will get a greater share of that market when all borders are re-opened?
“What triggered the share purchase in the first place, was FNPF desperate for newer investments, or was Fiji Airways after additional capital injection to cover its ballooning debt?”
Unity Fiji party leader Savenaca Narube said in the wake of the purchase of a sizeable chunk of Fiji Airways shares by the FNPF, the members of the fund had every right to question the details of the deal.
“It’s their money and not the Board’s which is being put at risk,” Mr Narube said.
“Negotiations require confidentiality. But the Board must now cogently, simply and convincingly tell their members why it invested a huge sum of their money in a risky industry.
“It must tell members the risks involved and how these would be mitigated. It must tell members of the processes that it followed.”
“How was the financial supervisor involved in this deal?
“The Board of the FNPF owes this to its members, otherwise, they are not complying with their fundamental responsibility of safeguarding members’ funds and they should immediately step down.”
Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry said it would be “foolish” of anyone to believe that the FNPF’s board decision to invest was prompted by any other consideration than bailing out the airline.
