We do not have the $200,000 (US$100,000) that has to be paid to the Fijiana at the moment.
Fiji Rugby Football Union Trust Board Member, Jenny Seeto stated this in a press conference at Rugby House adding they will explain to the Fijiana that they have a debt, they will find the money but it will take some time.
Seeto said they are waiting for the captain to come back into the country as they want to meet with the girls.
Fiji Rugby Chair, Peter Mazey said he wants to meet with the Fijiana for their input on their new plans, saying the sad part was that the girls did not want to come and meet at Rugby House, so they have made arrangements to meet them outside.
When questioned on who promised the $300 (US$150) daily allowance to the Fijiana, Mazey said he thinks it was their manager.
Mazey said they are conducting the investigation to find out where it came from.
Trust Board Member, Sikeli Tuinamuana asks why were the Fijiana promised $300 (US$150) when the policy is $100 (US$50).
Tuinamuana said because they were promised $300 (US$150) they will honour that commitment.
He said the investigation is being done to establish the facts of what happened.
He further said they need to know why these things happened.
Tuinamuana said this is not necessarily to take people to task because they are looking at the way forward but if there is a criminal element they will pass it on to the authorities.
Meanwhile,the 7s programes for both men and women organised by the Fiji Rugby Union have been running at a loss of about $1.5 million (US$750,000).
Fiji Rugby Football Union Trust board member Jenny Seeto said one of the first things they did when they came into office is look into the budgeting area of things and asked for the financials on the 7s tournaments because it is one of the sports that has been successful globally and has brought a great reputation for the country.
She said when they were first given the 7s financials for the season that ended in May this year, it showed a small profit but as they dug deeper into it, they found out about the loss.
Seeto said sponsorships are something that they will be working on with their commercial teams and the management so that when they go out to look for money, they need to know what to ask the sponsors because the sponsors themselves will be transparent about where the money will be going to and that is important.
She said this is one of the reasons why they are in an overdraft because they just don’t have enough money to fund the various programmes.
Mazey said this is a massive loss in the 7s programmes and they are paying the National players their salaries and allowances, airfares, clothing and shoes and when they are asking for large allowances on top of that, they should understand that they already have had their salaries and had their other expenses paid for, even their laundry.
Board member, Sikeli Tuinamuana said the losses are historical and they have a huge $3 million(US$1.5 million) debt sitting there.
He said the sponsors are giving money going forward and with expectations of having their programmes fulfilled.
Tuinamuana said this leaves the question of where is the money coming from to clear this debt.
He said there is a need to make sure these situations are balanced and also make sure the sponsors are satisfied by meeting their requirements because it is a contract.
Tuinamuana at the same time, they have to look for ways to pay down the debts and that is the challenge that they are facing at the moment.
SOURCE: FIJI VILLAGE/PACNEWS
