REPORTS claiming that the Prime Minister’s official residence is without any furniture has been rubbished.
PM’s official residence former butler, Brian Fatai, said the news article ran by Island Sun newspaper this week claiming that Red House is empty off furniture is untrue.
He described the article is erroneous in its entirety because the Red House have all its furniture remain and fully intact.
“Two days after the Prime Minister’s election, I and few officials from the Prime Minister’s Office have made an inventory of the furniture remain in the house and I can confirm to all taxpayers of this country that all furniture are there,” Fatai highlighted.
“The furniture includes tables, chairs, bedroom furniture, mattresses, drawers and cupboards,” Fatai added.
The former butler emphasised that to say there are no furniture is a ‘blatant lie’.
“I’m obliged to make a clarification and I’m thankful that this opportunity is given to me to tell the truth to the taxpayers of this country whom we owe them an explanation,” the former butler said.
Fatai reveals that initially Red House was totally in chaos- it decayed from both outside and inside.
“It was former Prime Minister, Gordon Darcy Lilo and his wife who improved the face of the house both in interior and exterior,” Fatai stated.
“They have repaired and improved both inside the house and outside- one can see beautiful gardens up there and the interior is converted to look respectable and fitting for a state house,” Fatai added.
The former butler added that when the former PM left the house, he took his personal stuff and left behind all the furniture that were there even before he lived there.
But Fatai also added that the Red House’s furniture story should not be politicised and allowed to be trickled into the public domain which still today have queries and concerns regarding the bechedemer saga.
“I tend to think that the Red House’s furniture is a non- issue and it must not be politicised to divert people’s attention from the bechedemer issue which today has raised a lot of questions than answers,” Fatai stated.
“I urge government to refrain from politicising the Red House furniture and address the bechedemer issue which stinks to this date,” the former butler added.
Fatai said the way in which the Red House furniture is blown out of proportion is the work of government’s spin doctors’ who are attempting to divert people’s attention from the real issue that is haunting the government to this day.
“Address the bechedemer saga heads- on, the Red House furniture is not worth throwing about in the public domain,” Fatai exclaimed.
“But again, I can confirm to all tax payers of this country that the Red House’s furniture is fully intact and PMO’s officials can testify to my claim,” Brian Fatai concluded.
This paper understands that the national parliament’s speaker, Ajilon Nasiu, is being earmarked to stay at the official Prime Minister’s residence while the PM remains at his private residence at Lungga.
