Union calls for FSC to have AGM

THE National Farmers Union (NFU) has called on Minister for Sugar Charan Jeath Singh to direct the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) to hold its deferred AGMs and release annual reports for the years 2021/22 without any further delay.

NFU general secretary Mahendra Chaudhry said the AGMs were long overdue after being arbitrarily deferred without any explanation to shareholders.

“FSC’s financial year closes May 31 and its AGMs were usually held around October/November, but this has not happened in the last two years,” he said.

“Repeated calls on former prime minister and sugar minister Voreqe Bainimarama to act in the matter were ignored by him, showing a total lack of accountability and concern on his part.

“In recent years, FSC’s auditors have described its financial position as precarious and have stated that it would not survive as a going concern without substantial government support.”

He said the livelihood of thousands of farming families, mill workers, landowners and other ancillary businesses are dependent on the sugar industry.

“It is thus of vital importance to them and, indeed, to the nation as a whole to be kept informed of the future viability of the key stakeholders in the industry.

“There are other long overdue reforms that need to be considered to guarantee the future viability and growth of the industry to become a major player in the Fijian economy.”

Sugar Minister Charan Jeath Singh agreed with Mr Chaudhry’s call.

“I fully agree with Mr Chaudry that FSC should hold its AGM without delay and release the balance sheets of 2021 and 2022 to its shareholders,” he said.