Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

Chinese Government provides FJD 151,539 grant for Thomas Baker Memorial Junior Secondary School Building Project (Linked to Record ID#64207)

$151.5K USD

Funder	Unspecified Chinese Government Institution
Recipient Organization	Government of Fiji
Country	Fiji
Start Date	Jun 27, 2007
End Date	Nov 14, 2031
Duration	8,906 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`64209`

Grant Description

On June 27, 2007, roughly six months after the December 2006 military coup in Fiji, the Chinese Government provided a $5 million cash grant to the Government of Fiji (as recorded in Record ID#64207). These monies were deposited into a trust fund controlled by Fiji’s Office of the Prime Minister.

Then, on May 22, 2007, Fiji’s Cabinet approved the utilization of the $5 million cash grant to finance the construction and upgrading of rural roads and other rural projects. FJD 151,539 was earmarked for the Thomas Baker Memorial Junior Secondary School Building Project.

The purpose of this project was to construct a building for Thomas Baker Memorial Junior Secondary School in the district of Navatusila within Nadroga-Navosa province. In July 2007, an MOU was signed between the Office of the Prime Minister of Fiji and the RFMF Engineers regiment. It specified that the RFMF Engineers would be responsible for the implementation of the project.

As of December 16, 2007, the project was nearing completion. It was ultimately completed on or around October 26, 2008.

📋 Staff Comments

According to Fijian law, any monies that are deposited into government-controlled Trust Funds are not the property of the state and not utilized for the purpose of government. As such, these monies are to be deposited in separate bank accounts and accounted for separately from public money and other money (since they are being ‘held in trust’). Fiji’s Office of the Prime Minister operates one Trust Fund that is financed by the PRC Government and another that is financed by the Taiwanese (ROC) Government. The PRC Government, in effect, entrusted its $5 million cash grant to the coup leader (Frank Bainimarama), who became Fiji’s Prime Minister.

📚 Sources & References

REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE FIJI ISLANDS VOLUME 2 AUDIT REPORT ON GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES AND DEPARTMENTS-2007
School Building Projects In Rewa And Tailevu
Fiji
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE FIJI ISLANDS VOLUME 1 AUDIT REPORT ON THE WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ANNUAL APPROPRIATION STATEMENT- 2007
The Dragon Looks South
Develop education: Bole
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