Urgent payments for Ashika, a done deal [1]
Friday, February 19, 2010 - 23:30. Updated on Friday, May 9, 2014 - 21:39.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the Ashika was told today, that because of the urgency in the purchasing of a ferry, the initial FJ$90,000 dollars (an equivalent of TOP$88,250) was paid from a government fund specifically out of the Ministry of Finance vote; while the remaining FJ$510,000 was paid from a separate Government Fund that held, in part, payments from the People's Republic of China in a Special Account at the National Reserve Bank.
The Deputy Secretary of Finance, Tiofilusi Tiueti, who was Acting Secretary in April 2009 gave evidence and confirmed that he signed the initial deposit through the Westpac Bank of Tonga to the owners Patterson Brothers Trust Account in the ANZ Bank in Fiji.
He said the deposit of FJ$90,000 was paid from a Government fund, basically of the Ministry of Finance vote, and the remainder was paid from a Special Account, which held up to $24 million in total that included payments from the Peoples Republic of China to the Government of Tonga.
The Deputy Secretary confirmed that he was only aware that Government had decided to purchase the Ashika on April 28 when he was given the cabinet decision dated April 23 from the Minister of Finance for the possible payment of the vessel.
He told the inquiry that in reading the Cabinet decision he knew that Cabinet had decided to purchase the vessel.
Counsel Assisting Manuel Varitimos put to the witness, that it was already a done deal and Government had by then committed to buy Ashika, and he agreed.
Payment
On May 7 he confirmed receiving a Savingram from the Minister of Finance that was sent from the former Minister of Transport seeking the payment of the deposit on the purchase of the MV Princess Ashika. Attached was a legal opinion from the Solicitor General on the same day and the Cabinet decision of April 23.
The counsel put to him that the Solicitor General had advised, "We are concerned that the Marine and Ports Division of your Ministry has not conducted the auditing of the vessel. They are Government's shipping experts. Moreover there seems to have been no due diligence carried out at all on the survey documents supplied from the Fiji Ministry, latest survey of December 2008."
"Did you read the documents?" said the counsel.
The witness said he quickly went through it as well as the Solicitor General's advice.
"Do you know whether anyone from Transport looked at the vessel prior to purchase?"
But the witness said no, and added that he was never instructed to do any financial feasibility study on the viability for Government in purchasing the vessel.
He asserted that on the Savingram dated May 7 the former Minister of Transport advised that due diligence had been conducted on survey documents supplied from the Fiji Ministry, the latest survey was of December 2008 and that he had sighted the latest Dry Docking Report.
"But you saw neither a dry dock report nor any survey documents?" asked the counsel, and the witness agreed and asserted the only evidence on the seaworthiness of the Ashika that he had seen or saw was the notation made by the former Minister that due diligence had been carried out.
The witness added when saw the contract he noticed the payment, the purchase price and deposit but said he was not aware at the time that the payment was to be made irrespective of the condition of the vessel and agreed that it was a disconcerting purchase.
"You acted on advice of the former Transport Minister through the direction the Minister of Finance?" said the counsel, and Tiofilusi Tiueti agreed.