A special audit into the finances of Walesi Fiji’s finances from 2015 to 2022 found “not only severe mismanagement and waste but also potential breaches of law”.

Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica said the audit which showed a number of anomalies and alleged mismanagement of public funds would be handed to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption for further investigation and action.

He said government”will not stand idly by” and any evidence of abuse of office, misrepresentation, or fraudulent activity “will be pursued to the full extent of the law.”

In the meantime, Mr Kamikamica highlighted a number of strategies that would be implemented to ensure accountability and monitoring of the company’s operations.

“All future procurements will adhere strictly to transparent tendering processes.

“Encryption policies will be reviewed to ensure that all Fijians have true Free-to-Air access without the need for proprietary devices.

He said a spectrum of licenses and frequency registrations will be expedited to bring Walesi in line with licensing practices and protect critical services from interference.

“Monitoring and evaluation frameworks will be established to ensure efficiency and transparency.

“A transparent fee structure will be introduced for broadcasters and service providers using the Walesi network.

“The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC) will be engaged to ensure fair and equitable pricing.”

Walesi Fiji was established in 2015 by the FijiFirst government and was responsible for the application and management of the Digital Television Broadcasting platform in Fiji together with other initiatives that aligned with the then government’s digitalFiji strategies.