Ex-Civil Servant’s Fraud Deprived Cyclone Victims

Aformer senior civil servant has been reminded by the High Court in Suva that his act of abusing his office has defrauded Government and also deprived victims of Tropical Cyclone Thomas of their rehabilitated houses.

The Ministry of Provincial Development’s manager for Rural Housing Unit, Jovilisi Dau, in 2011 coerced three of his staff to sign off and receive building supplies valued $184,000 when only $46,081.60 worth of supplies were delivered.

Judge Justice Salesi Temo found Dau guilty of one count of abuse of office on 31 July. The building supplies were supplied by a company - Central City Hardware Limited.

Justice Temo noted that as a result of his act, “the ministry lost $184,000 cash and the Housing Rehabilitation Project for Cyclone Thomas victims in the Northern Division collapsed and the cyclone victims thereof had been deprived of their rehabilitated houses.” “In my view, Dau was an experienced manager of the Rural Housing Unit and very well knew what was going on at the ministry at the time.

“He had worked at the ministry since 1989 and with that experience, he knew what was happening at the top yard (Ministry’s storage in Walu Bay), at the material time. I reject his denial. To me, he was not a credible witness.” He will be sentenced on 10 August. Representing the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions were Mehzabeen Khan and Bhavna Kantharia. Edited By Percy Kean