Government's about-face on $4m Pacific Island training deal delights critics

Dr Colin Tukuitonga. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Critics of a "back-door" Government deal to give $4 million to a little-known company for Pacific economic development say they have been vindicated by a decision to hold an open tender for the money.

Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs head Dr Colin Tukuitonga has announced that the tender will seek proposals to "build skills, qualifications and entrepreneurship amongst young Pacific peoples".

Pacific Economic Development Agency Ltd (Peda), wholly owned by former ministry official JR Pereira, will be invited to bid again for the money but will now have to compete against other bidders.

Youth mentor Efeso Collins, who was dumped from his show on Radio 531pi after criticising the Budget allocation to Peda in May, said an open tender should have been held in the first place.

"This was a back-door deal," he said.

"I'm glad so much pressure was put on the Government right from the outset. I hope my little session on the radio might have helped a little.

"It's a complete turnaround on the part of the Government and I think they will be quite embarrassed by the whole ordeal."

The Budget allocated $1 million a year for four years to Peda "to support improved education, skill development and entrepreneurship of Pacific peoples in Auckland".

Peda proposed subcontracting with training providers for pre-trade literacy and numeracy courses, developing a database of at least 40,000 Pacific workers, encouraging the workers to upskill and using the database to supply Pacific trainees for apprenticeships and industry training.

But Finance Minister Bill English, who drove the deal from the Government side, said at the time that he was looking for a programme aimed at Pacific youth unemployment, and Dr Tukuitonga said yesterday the tender would now have a "primary focus" on young people aged 16 to 24 who have left school unqualified.

"The primary focus is to try and upskill them in some way to either get into a job or be in a position to undertake additional training and qualifications," he said.

Pacific Island Chamber of Commerce chairman Ulu Aiono, a Peda director, said Mr Pereira had told him that ministry officials negotiating a purchase agreement had been pushing him towards services that were "more and more different from his original concept".

But Dr Tukuitonga said the ministry did not ask for anything that was not part of Peda's original proposal. He said the ministry dropped parts of the original plan including a Buy Pacific Made campaign and a leadership programme because these duplicated existing efforts, but it was still talking to Mr Pereira about the upskilling scheme and "village frameworks" for specific island communities.

He said the ministry decided to seek competing bids because there were still "major concerns" with Peda's plan. "The proposal for upskilling is what other groups have been doing for years."

He said bids would be invited from the ministry-funded Pacific Business Trust, the Pasifika Education Centre, former All Black Michael Jones' Village Trust and apprenticeship co-ordinator John Kotoisuva, as well as from Peda.

Dr Tukuitonga said former diplomat Neil Walter had been unable to identify who leaked a March 25 ministry briefing document.