Issue No: 1023; 20 August 2001

It is believed that over 80% of the Local Purchase Orders issued by the Agriculture Ministry were to the Suncourt Hardware. One Agriculture Ministry official stated that the Suncourt Hardware each year made millions of dollars of sales through Agriculture Ministry issues LPO's. In many cases, cheap farming equipment manufactured in China, were sold as genuine brand - like Spear and Jackson - goods.

The media has revealed that the scam involved the Suncourt Hardware buying the LPO's at heavy discounts. For example, an LPO for supplying $3,000 worth of goods would be produced to the Suncourt Hardware which will give the presenter $1,500 cash instead of the $3,000 worth of goods, and then getting $3,000 cash from the Agriculture Ministry.

The Hardware was razed to the ground last month.

The hardware is owned by Dhansukhlal Bhika and others. All the owners have been supporters of the National Federation Party. Bhika was also the NFP choice of Mayor of Suva for some years until 1999. The Suva Suncourt group had also provided a lot of assistance to the terrorists who had taken the elected government hostage.