Professor Biman Prasad.

The government has allocated a budget of $35.2 million for the newly established Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad.

He says a total of $30.3 million has been allocated to the Department of Tourism and $4.9 million to the Department of Civil Aviation.

In a recent parliamentary session, Prasad also addressed concerns over the funding of new ministries without specific budget allocations and highlighted that the Ministry of Multi-Ethnic Affairs is funded from the Ministry of Sugar’s budget.

[Source: Parliament of Fiji/ Facebook]

The government, he says, is redeploying staff within the Civil Service to ensure adequate staffing for the new ministries and is focusing on efficient and smart resource allocation.

Prasad states that the government is committed to ensuring the effective delivery of government priorities through appropriate staffing and resource allocation.