Issue No: 925; 9 July 2001

Adi Finau Tabakaucoro, an Assistant Minister in Qarase' own Office has stated that she has increasingly found it difficult to perform he duties. Tabakaucoro was responsible for Qarase' `Blueprint' for ethnic Fijian advancement.

Today's Fiji Sun quotes Tabakaucoro as saying: "I don't know about other ministers, but I'm one who is finding great difficulty in performing my job in this caretaker [Qarase] administration. In trying to do my job, I run the risk of pushing and promoting policies that are now being claimed by SDL as its very own".

Qarase's party, the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanu (SDL) has been claiming that all the funds which the Qarase regime distributed out of the national budget for development projects are SDL's initiatives. Qarase had initiated what is called the Blueprint, which provides of $30m additional funding of ethnic Fijians without the necessary public sector accountability for the funds.

Tabakaucoro specifically hit out at Qarase for claiming that the Blueprint was Qarase's and SDL's initiative. She said: "That of course is not true as the blueprint was introduced under the interim government's mandate of restoring parliamentary democracy in this country. Besides, if the document was SDL's, then where does that leave ministers like myself who are happily comfortable with our own parties?".

She also stated: "In fact it has been difficult since what little things we do runs the risk of being promoting the SDL cause. It has certainly made out work much more uncomfortable. It must be said that whatever assistance we are giving out is because that is our job as the government of the day, there's nothing special or unique about it. Whether its rural electrification, extension of water mains or donations of farming implements, people are getting that not because of SDL but because that's the job of any government. We are basically doping what any government should be, be it the Alliance, Labour orf whatever government".