FBC incurs $78k loss after vehicle resale

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THE Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC). Picture: JONA KONATACI

The Fijian Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) has incurred a $78,470 financial loss after reselling the former chief executive officer’s $207,470 luxury vehicle for $129,000 through a tender process.

The “extravagant” purchase was criticised by the new FBC Board after coming into office and the process of reselling the vehicle was described as “time-consuming, messy, and uneconomical” by FBC chief executive officer Tarun Patel.

In a statement, he highlighted the board had accepted the highest bid for the Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI, and tenders were advertised in local media outlets on March 20.

Entries closed on March 27.

Mr Patel said the bids ranged from $80,000 to $129,000.

“The vehicle, originally acquired for a sum of $207,470 (VIP) was ordered during the tenure of the previous CEO Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum under the guidance of the previous board,” he said.

“The new board, in a transparent and independent process, has aimed at recouping the maximum possible of this expenditure, therefore FBC in an independent manner assigned the accounting firm of BDO to manage the sale of the vehicle.

“This decision is part of the current FBC’s Board and management’s ongoing commitment in eliminating unnecessary and extravagant expenditure.”

He said the $78,470 difference represented a financial loss for the corporation because of previous extravagant spending, however, the sale aligned with FBC’s current financial and strategic goal of eliminating unnecessary costs.

“We are committed to cutting exorbitant spending at FBC while ensuring that the quality of our services, programming and news content remains at the highest professional levels.”

Mr Patel said the files pertaining to the vehicle had been turned over to the relevant authorities.

Meanwhile, the corporation is also inviting applications for tender on a Volkswagen Tiguan and entries close on June 11, 2023.

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