Blog Archives

FNUGATE. Whistleblowers express shock at the appointment of JOTAME Halofaki as Acting Director of IT Services at FNU. 'Halofaki holds only a Diploma when job requires BA degree. Personal connection at play here'

31/7/2024

The FNU Whistleblowers allege to Fijileaks:
* Halofaki, who was previously serving as Manager IT Client, has now been promoted to Acting Director ITS.
It is important to note that Mr. Halofaki holds only a diploma, whereas the standard requirements for the Manager position include a bachelor's degree, and the Director role typically demands a postgraduate degree such as a Master’s.
A person Not Considered to be a Manager is now being given an Acting Director Post. This appointment raises concerns about potential bias within the IT Department.
It appears that Halofaki's promotion may have been allegedly influenced by personal connections, notably his relationship with the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Corporate Services, rather than based solely on merit. This situation is particularly troubling given that other qualified candidates, including Ashwani Kumar and Ashwani Arora, all of whom possess relevant degrees and postgraduate qualifications, were not considered for this role.
Such decisions not only undermine the meritocratic process but also potentially compromise the effectiveness and future direction of the FNU IT Department.
The lack of experience and qualifications for this critical role could have detrimental effects on the department’s performance and overall IT services. It is crucial for institutions to adhere to transparent and fair hiring practices to ensure that the most qualified individuals are selected for key positions.
This will not only foster a more equitable work environment but also contribute to the effective management of essential services.
We hope this issue will be addressed with the seriousness it warrants, and that FNU will take steps to ensure that future appointments are made based on merit and qualifications.

USPGATE. As two former Presidents of USP Staff Association prepare to appear on Fijivillage Straight Talk, KPMG Audit Report on Arvind Patel confirm STAFF claims of PAL Ahluwalia's $1.8m payout to Patel in 2019

30/7/2024

*The Unions call on the Council to approve this matter for referral to FICAC (Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption).

Two former Presidents of the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff, Elizabeth Fong and Dr Tamara Osborne-Naikatini (sacked by Pal Ahluwalia for Straight Talking - Telling the Truth about the mess he has created at the USP with the help of his cronies) will appear on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan at 7pm on Wednesday. The show will focus on issues relating to the University's operations, the expectations of the students and the staff.
The USP Vice Chancellor, Pal Ahluwalia, was invited but the University has indicated that he will not attend as they do not comment in public on personnel issues.
"Fijileaks STRAIGHT TALK: Since when has the Whistleblower on 'USP BDO Report' decided that he will no longer comment in public on personal issues?
His sacking of Osborne-Naikatini is illegal, vindictive, and bloody hypocritical.
Our own investigation reveal she NEVER leaked any materials to Islands Business magazine, despite Ahluwalia's claim he sacked her for breaching USP confidentiality.
When will the USP Council SACK PAL AHLUWALIA and hand him over to FICAC?
In 2020, on receiving the KPMG Report, Ahluwalia should have SACKED PATEL.
*But there is widespread consensus that it was Patel and not Ahluwalia who allegedly prepared the initial report that led to the controversial BDO Report on USP.

*The Joint Union Submission Report to the USP council members that was circulated to members before the April council meeting in Vanuatu this year was directly sourced from the 52-page KPMG Report on Patel.

13. Protection of Professor Arvind Patel (re: the KPMG report)
*This is a very serious case of financial gain that warranted a separate audit from the BDO
investigation and undertaken by KPMG.
*The KPMG audit discovered that in 2019, the year that VCP Ahluwalia started at USP, Arvind
Patel was paid a total of $1,183,483 million (154% more than what he received in 2018 under
VCP Rajesh Chandra).
*From the amount paid to Arvind Patel in 2019 – 14% was salary, 8% was Inducement
Allowance, 30% was Consultancy Fees, and 48% in Acting Allowances. In total Arvind Patel
held 7 Acting positions.
*The huge increases were 273% in Acting Allowances (from $150,886 in 2018 to $562,162 in
2019) – and a whopping 2,086% jump in Consultancy Fees (from $16,450 in 2018 to $359,630
in 2019).
*USP’s current Inducement Allowance policy restricts inducement percentages to 30%, with the
VCP having the power to increase the limit upon the recommendation of the relevant Dean or
Head of Section.
*And since Arvind Patel was Acting Dean FBE from 2015 to 2019, if any of his contract
renewals took place in that period (2019), there would clearly be a conflict of interest.
*The Audit Report also says that it was not until May 2020 that Arvind Patel relinquished the
role of Acting Dean FBE but kept his position as Head of the School of Accounting & Finance
and therefore retained the Inducement Allowance payments.
*Both VCP Ahluwalia and the Director Assurance & Compliance, Dulari Doras Traill were
supplied copies of the KPMG Audit Report on Arvind Patel in July 2020.
*
*The Unions are very concerned that Arvind Patel continues to be employed at the USP, and that
VCP Ahluwalia has done nothing to address the concerns raised by the SMT.
*Therefore, the Unions call on Council to approve this matter for referral to FICAC (Fiji
Independent Commission Against Corruption).
*We also call on the Assurance & Compliance section of the University to independently investigate the matter of Arvind Patel’s remuneration, without any undue influence from VCP Ahluwalia, because of the huge potential risks posed to the University.

Fijileaks: We have abridged the Report but will publish in full later

STRAIGHT DECLINE. Now, Ahluwalia is NOT available for STRAIGHT TALK tonight (Wednesday 1 August 2024)...but look who was TALKING on 17 September 2021

From Fijileaks Archive, 17 June 2020

BEGGING SEASON: Australia gives Coalition government $86.6m for Budget Support Funding to forestall looting and rioting by the POOR Fijians while Finance Minister Prasad and wife sit on $100,000 in NZ bank

29/7/2024

From Fijileaks Archive, 7 June 2023

GOLFING COUPIST: After overthrowing the Bavadra government and imprisoning the first i-Taukei Prime Minister to come from the western division of Fiji, the coupist executed the second coup in September 1987. And, continued to PLAY GOLF, while reducing the descendants of Indian girmitiyas to second class citizens in the 1990 Constitution

PRYDEGATE. Pryde was mouthing Aiyaz Khaiyum's order. Graham Davis to Fijileaks: 'You seem to have no idea that a S-G is the Gov'ts lawyer and takes orders from A-G. DPP is an independent officer of state - is neutral'

28/7/2024

Fijileaks: Yes, the then Solicitor-General Christopher Pryde was answerable to Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum but so what? By either commission or omission, Pryde was complicit in everything Khaiyum instructed be done against the post-coup regime's opponents.
*Anyone of sufficient character and integrity should have RESIGNED.

Pryde's appointment as Solicitor-General Unlawful and in Breach of the 1997 Constitution of Fiji, Deposed Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki, 2007:

"That I have read in the Fiji Times of 24 July 2007, that Mr Khaiyum had on the previous day made a press statement announcing that the Fourteenth Defendant, Mr Christopher Pryde, has been appointed to be the Solicitor- General by the JSC. I believe this purported appointment to be unlawful and in breach of the Constitution. I did not attend nor am I aware of any meeting of the JSC, which made such an appointment. The various media reports regarding Mr Pryde and his appointment have given no details of his work experience and qualifications for appointment as Solicitor-General. It has not been disclosed whether or not Mr Pryde has the requisite constitutional qualification namely that he holds or and has held high judicial office in the Fiji Islands or in any other country prescribed by Parliament, or has had 7 years or more of practice as a barrister and solicitor in the Fiji Islands or in any other country prescribed by Parliament. No consultations could have been held with the Attorney-General [Qoriniasi Bale] over Mr Pryde’s purported appointment as the lawful Attorney-General and Minster for Justice has not been discharging the functions of his office since 5 December 2006.
I am informed by undenied media reports and believe Mr Pryde is not a Fiji citizen. No agreement to his appointment could have been given by the lawful Prime Minister [Laisenia Qarase] since, as stated above, he has been in exile in Mavana, Lau since December 2006."
Deposed Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki's Affidavit, 15 August 2007

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI AT SUVA CIVIL JURISDICTION Civil Action No. BETWEEN:THE HONOURABLE DANIEL V FATIAKI and JOSAIA VOREQE BAINIMARAMA
of 2007
Plaintiff
First Defendant
:
*HIS EXCELLENCY RATU JOSEFA ILOILO VATU ULUIVUDA
*HONOURABLE JUSTICE NAZHAT SHAMEEM
*HONOURABLE JUSTICE ANTHONY GATES
*AIYAZ SAYED KHAIYUM
*RISHI RAM
*HONOURABLE ACTING JUSTICE JOHN BYRNE
*HONOURABLE JUSTICE ISIKELI MATAITOGA (now on Fiji Court of Appeal)
*ALOFA SERUVATU

A N D
*JOHN RABUKU
*ANARE TUILEVUKA (P.S. Tuilevuka is one of three judges sitting on the Pryde Tribunal)
*ANA ROKOMOKOTI
*MOHAMMED N SAHU KHAN
CHRISTOPHER PRYDE

Purported Appointment of Solicitor-General Christopher Pryde- Fatiaki Affidavit

118. That I have read in the Fiji Times of 24 July 2007, that Mr Khaiyum had on the previous day made a press statement announcing that the Fourteenth Defendant, Mr Christopher Pryde, has been appointed to be the Solicitor- General by the JSC. I annex a copy of this report marked “DVF23”. I believe this purported appointment to be unlawful and in breach of the Constitution.

119. I did not attend nor am I aware of any meeting of the JSC, which made such an appointment.

120. The last Solicitor-General appointed by the JSC was Mr Nainendra Nand. As Chairperson of the JSC, I have not been made aware of any resignation by Mr Nand, nor has the JSC taken any steps to remove Mr Nand from his office as Solicitor-General.

121. The various media reports regarding Mr Pryde and his appointment have given no details of his work experience and qualifications for appointment as Solicitor-General. It has not been disclosed whether or not Mr Pryde has the requisite constitutional qualification namely that he holds or and has held high judicial office in the Fiji Islands or in any other country prescribed by Parliament, or has had 7 years or more of practice as a barrister and solicitor in the Fiji Islands or in any other country prescribed by Parliament.

122. No consultations could have been held with the Attorney-General [Qoriniasi Bale] over Mr Pryde’s purported appointment as the lawful Attorney-General and Minster for Justice has not been discharging the functions of his office since 5 December 2006.

123. I am informed by undenied media reports and believe Mr Pryde is not a Fiji citizen. No agreement to his appointment could have been given by the lawful Prime Minister [Laisenia Qarase] since, as stated above, he has been in exile in Mavana, Lau, since December 2006.

Harm Suffered

124. I and my family have suffered personal anguish, distress, public humiliation and considerable inconvenience and anxiety as a result of my being unlawfully suspended without charges for over 6 months and in being denied access to personal files and other personal items that remain locked in my chambers to this very day.

125. I was also prevented from attending two overseas conferences and I was unable to undertake private visits to see the Wellington 7s in New Zealand in February 2007 or attend my mother’s 80th birthday, which was celebrated in Auckland, New Zealand in March 2007. I was also unable to attend my youngest brother’s graduation from the Auckland University of Technology in May 2007 or attend my cousin's wedding in Sydney, Australia on 19 May 2007.

FATIAKI: Subsequent Purported Appointments by JSC are ILLEGAL

John Rabuku

Ana Rokomokoti

Anare Tuilevuka

Isikeli Mataitoga

That I am informed by various undenied media reports and believe that the Eighth Defendant, Mr Isikeli Mataitoga, has been purportedly appointed as a Puisne Judge in breach of the [1997] Constitution and of the High Court Act (as amended by Act No.23 of 2002). This appointment was not recommended by a duly constituted JSC. I did not convene or attend any meeting to recommend such an appointment. It was also in breach of the provisions of the High Court Act (as amended by Act No.23 of 2002).

That for neither of these appointments was there any consultation with the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice (Qoriniasi Bale), nor, in the case of Mr Mataitoga’s appointment, was there consultation with the sector standing committee of Parliament. The lawful Attorney-General has not been performing the duties of his office and Parliament has not been in session since 5 December 2006.

That I verily believe from undenied news reports that 5 new resident magistrates have been purportedly appointed to the Magistrates Courts, namely, the Ninth Defendant, Alofa Seruvatu, the Tenth Defendant, John Rabuku, the Eleventh Defendant, Anare Tuilevuka, the Twelfth Defendant, Ana Rokomokoti, and the Thirteenth Defendant, Mohammed N Sahu Khan. All these appointments are in breach of the Constitution. None were made by a duly constituted JSC. None were made after consultations with the Prime Minister or Leader of the Opposition. It is a matter of notorious public record that the lawful Prime Minister has been in exile in Mavana, Lau since December 2006 and the Leader of the Opposition has not been able to perform his constitutional functions since 5 December 2006.

"I am informed by undenied media reports and believe Mr Pryde is not a Fiji citizen. No agreement to his appointment could have been given by the lawful Prime Minister [Laisenia Qarase] since, as stated above, he has been in exile in Mavana, Lau, since December 2006." - DANIEL FATIAKI

From Fijileaks Archive, 20 December 2021

PRYDEGATE: If the late Fiji Sun publisher Russell Hunter could Speak Up 'He (Pryde) just called (11 Feb 2008) to say your piece re - [Daniel] Fatiaki [Tribunal] bordering on Contempt. He wants us to publish his response.'

25/7/2024

"The timing of Mr Lal's article also raises a rather worrying issue. The Chief Justice's affairs are about to be aired before the Tribunal this coming Wednesday and to write in detail giving opinions on the issues borders on Contempt of Court."

The Fatiaki Tribunal (2007) and Pryde Tribunal (2024)
When is commenting on a Judicial Tribunal in progress NOT Contempt?
When the former Solicitor-General and now the suspended Director of Public Prosecutions Christopher Pryde decides, as in our case in 2008 and his case in 2024.
*Has Christopher Pryde committed Contempt of Court by commenting privately, and publicly, on his own case which is before three Fiji High Court judges for hearing from 19 August to 30 August 2024, and the Tribunal's report will be forwarded to the President on or before 23 September 2024?

In February 2008, I advised the late Russell Hunter to defy Pryde's demand for us to publish Aiyaz Khaiyum's response to my article on the 'Fatiaki Tribunal', but Hunter decided that he wanted the 'Scratching Monkeys' off his back and focus on publishing the Interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry's $2million in the Sydney bank.
He had miscalculated the illegal Interim government's response. On 24 February, Hunter was abducted from his Suva home, tortured and deported to Australia. He was declared persona non grata, and Walter Mitty lawyer Aiyaz Khaiyum, changed the law so that Hunter could not challenge his deportation in the Fiji High Court. He died in Australia.
What role Christopher Pydre played is not clear to us.
Did Pryde and Khaiyum use Russell Hunter's decision to publish their response to my Opinion Piece in the Fiji Sun as a basis to subsequently deport Hunter out of Fiji?

Current A-G Graham Leung was representing Fatiaki at the 2007 Tribunal before Justices Robert Ellicot, Raymond Sears and Dr Tan Sri Lal Vohra

Graham Leung

Adish Narayan

Nainendra Nand

Anthony Gates

Yash Ghai

So far, we had remained detached from the controversy arising out of Prydegate. But Pride Before the Fall was long in the making, starting in 2007 when Christopher Pryde was illegally appointed Solicitor-General, replacing the ousted Nainendra Nand (an old friend of mine), who was arrested and beaten up at the army camp shortly after the 2006 Bainimarama coup. It was none other than Frank Bainimarama, now incarcerated in Nasinu Prison with his iPad and Heart Monitor, who had assaulted Nand, the deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase’s Solicitor-General.

The treasonous Coupists had removed both Nand and Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki from their respective positions, and both mounted legal challenges to their removal. To determine whether Fatiaki avoided paying taxes and was guilty of misbehaviour arising from his alleged role in drafting decrees following George Speight’s failed 2000 coup, the interim military cum civilian regime set up a judicial tribunal consisting of three overseas judges.

Ultimately, Fatiaki shook hands with the Interim Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum and walked away with $275,000 to become the Chief Justice of Nauru. His lawyers, Graham Leung, the current Attorney-General and a New Zealander QC Grant Illingworth, negotiated the ‘golden handshake’ deal with the devil. Nand was left to fight his case but passed away without getting any justice or compensation. Lawyer Adish Narayan, who Pryde now has engaged to represent him before the Tribunal, acted on behalf of Khaiyum and the Interim Bainimarama government in the $275,000 golden handshake deal.

Undoubtedly, both Narayan and Pryde have first-hand experience dealing with a Judicial Tribunal. Pryde can represent himself based on his leading role in the Fatiaki Tribunal. Documents reveal he was at the forefront in pursuing the deposed Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki. Despite the New Zealand government discouraging her citizens from taking up appointments in the post-2006 military government, Pryde was a ‘willing executioner’ against the illegal regime’s opponents.

We had the misfortune of becoming Pryde’s first victims. Strutting like a pumped-up legal peacock, he became the principal enforcer on behalf of the Taliban Mullah (as the late Fiji Sun publisher Russell Hunter described Aiyaz Khaiyum in private communications). We had coined names to describe those under our radar – Frank Bainimarama (Cassava Patch Runner), Christopher Pryde (Long White Kiwi Cloud), Small Madam (our deep throat inside FRCA) and Mahendra Chaudhry as Daaku – concerning his tax records, we were working for publication in the Fiji Sun in 2007-2008.

I had set out to establish if the two (Mahendra Chaudhry and Daniel Fatiaki) were tax dodgers since I had their thick tax files on me (provided by Small Madam inside FRCA). In 2007, without naming Chaudhry, I wrote the first of many articles in the Fiji Sun, starting with ‘Interim Cabinet Minister and the Taxman’. We didn’t name Chaudhry until a year later, in February 2008, as that Interim Minister. I was on friendly terms with those I was now writing about after the 2006 coup. My friendship with Fatiaki goes back nearly four decades to when he was a senior prosecutor in the DPP’s office. In 1980, I was chief court reporter for the old Fiji Sun, closed down by Sitiveni Rabuka following his treasonous and racist 1987 coups. As for Chaudhry, I interacted with him when he was a trade unionist and later stood up for him when he was cruelly deposed and held hostage by Speight and his thugs for 56 days in 2000.

That year, Aiyaz Khaiyum was a student at the University of Hong Kong, writing his thesis under the supervision of my old Oxford friend and colleague, Professor Yash Ghai of Kenya. Sadly, Ghai was too trusting of his mediocre student when he agreed to chair the Ghai Constitution Commission in 2012. If only he had listened to me, for in 1987, Yash Ghai and I were at the forefront of explaining and objecting to Rabuka’s 1987 coups. In 2012, I was completing a book on the trial, conviction and imprisonment of the Kenyan nationalist leader and future President Jomo Kenyatta in 1953, focusing on the corrupt colonial judge Ransley Thacker, who before being appointed to Kenya was Fiji’s colonial Attorney-General from 1934-38 (Chapter Three: The Shady Attorney-General in Sunny Land). The book's theme is Race, Rebellion, Justice and Empire: The Trial of Kenyan nationalist leader Jomo Kenyatta at Kapenguria, 1950-53. The book is a biography of the corrupt colonial judge Ransley Thacker, who presided over the Kenyatta trial.

Anthony Gates, who controversially replaced Fatiaki as Chief Justice, was another lifelong friend, senior prosecutor, and contemporary of Fatiaki in the DPP’s office. Therefore, it was no surprise that all sides, the key protagonists and antagonists, leaked highly confidential documents to me – documents that found their way into my Fiji Sun columns, including many ending up on the front pages. Of course, some were unhappy when they realized I had not taken the ‘bite’ but set out to establish the truth regarding their claims and counter-claims with various other highly trusted sources. In Chaudhry and Fatiaki’s cases, I had their whole tax files on me and access to contacts inside FRCA. Based on the tax files, I had written articles on both Chaudhry and Fatiaki, attracting the ire of Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum and Chriistpoher Pryde. They accused me of committing Contempt of Court by commenting in detail on the then impending 'Fatiaki Tribunal' before three overseas Judges..

What follows is a response by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Electoral Reform, Public Enterprises and Anti-Corruption on the Article by Victor Lal in the Sun dated 11.2.08 entitled “Where is the Justice?”

"where is the Justice?"
Or rather "where are the facts?

Your article of 11 February 2008 by Victor Lal is meaningless, being based on a complete misapprehension of the role of the Tribunal appointed by the President to investigate the affairs of Chief Justice Fatiaki. The Tribunal has not been appointed to "prosecute "the Judge for tax evasion; it has been appointed to investigate alleged wrongdoings on his part (including tax irregularities) with an end to determine whether such wrongdoings might warrant his removal from office.

Taxation malfeasance is but one part of the allegations and the issue to be resolved is whether such conduct is befitting of a person of the Chief Justice's position in society. Mr Lal's constant references to "the Report" , which he links to the Fatiaki investigation is both misleading and dishonest journalism. He claims his authorities to be (mysterious)"sources" and bases his "facts" on premises such as "it was hinted that.."

Mr Justice Fatiaki is not being "charged with willfully with intent to evade tax"(sic) (whatever Mr Lal means by that) and his position is therefore patently different to that of "an interim Cabinet Minister". To suggest otherwise and to use the Chief Justice as an example to push for proceedings against "the Minister" not only confuses the issues involved but lends credence to Mr Lal's own (perhaps unwise) claim that he is "politically motivated".

The timing of Mr Lal's article also raises a rather worrying issue. The Chief Justice's affairs are about to be aired before the Tribunal this coming Wednesday and to write in detail giving opinions on the issues borders on contempt of Court.

The following opinion column in the Fiji Sun, based on hard documents on our Founding Editor-in-Chief and then Opinion Columnist for Fiji Sun had irked them

FATIAKI TRIBUNAL should include other TAX EVADERS:

Minister, consultant, and board member, say FIRCA sources

By VICTOR LAL

Fijileaks: The three were Interim Finance Minister Chaudhry, FRCA Consultant Michael Scott and FRCA Board Member Arvind Datt.

It is only right, fair and proper that the Interim Cabinet Minister, the FIRCA consultant, and one of its board members who are all accused of tax evasion, were also directed to appear, alongside the suspended Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki, before the tribunal set up under the chairmanship of the Australian judge Justice Robert Ellicott, argue sources inside FIRCA.

They are basing their demand on the findings and recommendations of an internal audit that was carried out into Justice Fatiaki’s tax records on the orders of FIRCA CEO Jitoko Tikolevu and the Attorney General, Minister for Justice, Electoral Reform & Anti-Corruption, Aiyaz Khaiyum, with a view to prosecuting the Chief Justice for tax avoidance. The report dated 17 January 2008 concluded that Justice Fatiaki be criminally charged with 26 counts of wilfully, with intent to evade, paying taxes to FIRCA. The sources claim that since all the four cases are of a very similar nature, it will save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars if the other three were also included under the umbrella of one tribunal, and with similar charge sheets.

The main argument for the prosecution of the case against Justice Fatiaki, despite him having paid the tax during the amnesty period, granted by Interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, who is the line manager for FIRCA, is that Justice Fatiaki breached the Income Tax Act by wilfully not disclosing his true earnings.

The investigation report into Justice Fatiaki states as follows: “The offence was wilful as Mr Fatiaki prepared his own tax returns and was not misled into the omission by a tax agent or other person. Mr Fatiaki signed the tax returns personally including the declaration that the returns were “true and complete”. The returns will be entered into evidence.”

According to the sources, the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) found evidence in Justice Fatiaki’s office of income apart from his official salary. FICAC then raised FIRCA to get his tax returns (which showed only his salary). The Attorney-General Khaiyum, according to the sources, ordered FIRCA to prosecute Justice Fatiaki. (Fijileaks: We have not printed the whole article).

NEXT, Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki, 'Pryde's appointment as S-G ILLEGAL'
How the interim illegal regime had reduced suspended Fatiaki's salary.
Now, Pryde is complaining his salary has been stopped, handicapping him from paying his legal representative before the Pryde Tribunal

*7 May 2008. The suspended CJ Daniel Fatiaki on his Salary Reduction

Review of Vice Chancellor's Impact on Regionalism and Staff Retention. USP Council told Pal Ahluwalia is undermining regionalism by pushing out regional staff. 'The Council should review and terminate his Contract'

24/7/2024

"It is regrettable that although more than 90 percent of staff members of the two USP staff unions have expressed their lack of confidence in Professor Pal Ahluwalia’s leadership through both the performance review of the VCP and vote at Council, the University Council voted (13:10) to extend his contract for 2 years even though he is over the retirement age of 65.
The Association of USP Staff and the USP Staff Union strongly urge the Council to review its decision regarding the extension of the VCP contract and to terminate his employment at the end of his current contract.
The Council must also review the criteria for appointing the next VCP. It reinstates that the eligible applicant must have taught, researched, and worked in the USP region, and remove the requirement that eligibility is limited to those who are of professorial rank."

STROLLING IN SAMOA

Since its birth, some 56 years ago, the University of the South Pacific committed itself to the principle of regionalism both broadly as the emerging premier regional higher education institution but also in terms of recruiting, training, and retaining citizens of its member states. In the past, the University invested heavily in promoting the concept and reality of regionalism through nurturing a pool of young and energetic regional staff who would eventually apply for senior positions and assume leadership.

It is therefore deeply disappointing that since the tenure of the current Vice-Chancellor and President (VCP) of USP there has been a marked failure to retain regional staff. While there is indeed the context of greater mobility of professional and skilled people in the region, it is evident that push factors have been at work within the University.

The most recent case is the unprecedented, excessively harsh and unilateral sacking by VCP Pal Ahluwalia of the President of the Association of USP Staff, Dr Tamara Osborne for the alleged gross misconduct’ attributed to an article in Island Business magazine in March. Far from protecting and promoting free speech and academic freedom, the VCP is seeking to silence
dissenting voices.

The second recent case is one in which the VCP is directly implicated as he, by all accounts and without any reasonable basis, delayed for a year the convening of the relevant committee to consider the promotion of a regional staff to the rank of Associate Professor. Reliable USP sources indicate that the Committee was near unanimous in supporting the promotion as did the two independent internally reputable external referees.

The regional staff member in question had applied for promotion had an impeccable track record as a researcher and tertiary educator meanwhile began applying for positions in universities abroad. We understand that a top-ranking university in Aotearoa-New Zealand has offered him tenure as Associate Professor. Besides Professor Jito Vanualailai, currently there is no regional person at the professorial level at USP. There is no woman professor at the University which prides itself publicly for promoting gender equality. In addition, there is a regional female Associate Professor who has been acting head of a major school for several years (throughout Ahluwalia’s tenure) a renowned researcher with numerous publications with international peer esteem who should have been promoted to professor five years ago. Disregarding her holistic contribution to the institution, Ahluwalia and his committee failed to offer her even the standard five-year contract.

Regional staff are also appalled at the treatment meted out to Dr Guilio Massaso Paunga, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Regional Campuses) whose contract was not renewed or extended in accordance
with due process. Another regional staff member who loyally served the institution for 37 years and was pushed out is Dr Joeli Veitayaki. His application for promotion to the rank of Professor had been ignored.

Other regional staff left because they did not see future career prospects at USP are Dr Tui Rakuita, lecturer at USP but a senior lecturer at Otago University. Dr Litea Meo Sewabu who was responsible for the Social Work programme as a lecturer at USP, left two years ago and has been appointed at Associate Professor for Social Work and Communities at the University of Western Sydney.

Clayton Kuma of the Solomon Islands who for twenty years taught courses at the undergraduate and post graduate levels on Laucala Campus was not appointed to lecturer position on the Solomon Islands Campus even though the selection committee had recommended the appointment. This would have enabled him to apply to pursue PhD studies in Australia. The fact that he did not have a doctorate was used as an excuse for not appointing him at the lecturer level.

Then there was the earlier case of Dr Apisolome Movono who even after completing his PhD studies was expected to remain at the Assistant Lecturer level. He left to take up the position of a senior lecturer at Massey University in New Zealand. Katy Napwat and Naomi Bolenga left the Emalus Campus, Vanuatu in frustration at the lack of attention to campus administration and the unsatisfactory facilities and services there.

Others who have left are Dr Tammy Tabe, PACE-SD (now at the University of Hawaii), and Dr Viliamu Iese, Dr Nacanieli Rika who was acting Head of School Accounting, Finance and Economics. Those listed are not the only cases of regional staff who have left. It provides a brief snapshot of good regional people leaving because of the failure of the USP administration led by Professor Pal Ahluwalia to provide an enabling and supportive environment at the regional institution.

It is regrettable that although more than 90 percent of staff members of the two USP staff unions have expressed their lack of confidence in Professor Pal Ahluwalia’s leadership through both the performance review of the VCP and vote at Council, the University Council voted (13:10) to extend his contract for 2 years even though he is over the retirement age of 65.

The Association of USP Staff and the USP Staff Union strongly urge the Council to review its decision regarding the extension of the VCP contract and to terminate his employment at the end of his current contract. The Council must also review the criteria for appointing the next VCP. It reinstates that the eligible applicant must have taught, researched, and worked in the USP region, and remove the requirement that eligibility is limited to those who are of professorial rank.

The best USP vice-chancellors have not always been professors, yet this criterion has been wielded to exclude competent and capable regional applicants.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

TOXIC WASTE. FSC accused of dumping TOXIC CANE JUICE with high sugar content from its troubled Lautoka Mill into nearly premises. FLP: 'The foul smelling juice is removed in the wee hours to avoid detection'

22/7/2024

FSC 'caught' secretly dumping toxic cane juice

The Fiji Sugar Corporation is secretly dumping tonnes of toxic cane juice with high sugar content from its troubled Lautoka Mill into nearby premises, resulting in huge losses to the industry.

The foul smelling juice is removed from the factory in the wee hours of the morning, dumped into pits dug near the South Pacific Fertiliser factory and covered with mill mud to avoid detection.

We are aware of two such secret operations, carried out in the early hours of Sunday 30 June 2024 and again at 3.30am on 7 July 2024 using a specially constructed truck tanker.

The Environment and Health authorities are either unaware of this dumping or have been told to turn a blind eye to it.

NFU had recently expressed concern at how growers, and indeed, the industry as a whole, are losing millions of dollars in wasted sugar from the malfunctioning Lautoka and Rarawai Mills. The above examples are part of the continuing saga.

We are informed of large quantities of manufactured sugar spilled on the filthy floor of the Lautoka Mill due to faulty conveyor belts, being regularly washed down the drains into the sea.

Lack of accountability

FSC stopped issuing weekly statistical reports on the performance of the mills ever since the current management took charge. So, there is now no information available to the growers on the actual crushing results, including mill stoppages, TCTS and so on.

The National Farmers Union is simply shocked at such attempts by FSC to cover up its failures and hide the true state of its ailing mills from the growers who have a 70% stake in the industry. There is a complete lack of accountability and transparency in the milling operations.

The quantity of cane crushed so far is well below the budgeted figures for the season. We have been able to establish from industry sources that the TCTS ratio is extremely high, averaging at 15 tonnes of cane to make one tonne sugar – 5 tonnes more than the norm. This is intolerable, signifying loss to growers in millions of dollars.

Another concern related to the ailing mills is the extremely long hours lorry drivers are being forced to wait to off-load cane at the mills due to the frequent stoppages and the extremely low crushing rate.

NFU is informed that the wait can be as long as 24 hours as they queue to off-load. This itself is an inhumane imposition confining the drivers to their lorries for long hours without adequate rest, shower or meals.
Environmental Pollution

FSC is now contributing heavily to environmental pollution. It is dumping the toxic juice which will eventually find its way into the sea, polluting the ocean.

It is doing the same in Labasa where cane juice overflows pumped into the Qawa River, emanate foul smell and endanger marine life. The Ba River is getting similarly polluted by outflows from the Rarawai Mill.

Inaction on the part of the authorities to prosecute FSC, is merely encouraging the Corporation not to fix this chronic problem.

USPGATE, No Words to Describe the ROT. The power of one man to hire and fire staff leaves post graduate linguistic students crying out for help to find supervisors. Pal AHLUWALIA blamed for woeful plight of students

20/7/2024

COMING SOON. The long-hidden KPMG Report that reveals that in 2019 Pal Ahluwalia authorized the payment of over $1.8million to his buddy Professor Arvind Patel. FICAC must launch a criminal probe.

30 July 2020
Dear Sir,
Deep-dive review into consulting activities and other roles undertaken by Professor Arvind Patel
Scope of work
We have been engaged by the University of the South Pacific (USP) to undertake a deep-dive into the consulting activities and other substantive roles undertaken by Professor Arvind Patel at USP between the period 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2019.

MEANWHILE, Three potential PhD students in linguistics at USP claim to Fijileaks* that Ahluwalia's refusal to renew the contract of a leading scholar on Fiji Hindi has had devastating impact on their educational plans and proposed theses on different aspects of Fiji Hindi.
*They claim that RAJNI CHAND is incapable of post-graduate linguistics supervision, especially in Fiji Hindi Studies.

Dr Apolonia Tamata is senior lecturer in Fijian (i-Taukei) studies, and Rajen Prasad does not have a doctorate so he can't supervise the three students. Prasad registered for for PhD in 2020, and is writing up a thesis on a descriptive analysis of the verb morphology of Fiji Hindi (Fiji Baat*).

Prasad

Tamata

From Fijileaks Archive, 20 May 2023

"The day Indo-Fijian politicians kill Fiji Hindi, they will be killing a part of their history and heritage in Fiji. For no matter where one goes in the world, the moment one hears an Indo-Fijian open his mouth, one immediately asks him: ‘What part of Fiji are you from?’ In a similar vein, India Indians are able to separate us from them solely on the basis of our Fiji Hindi.
If the Indo-Fijian politicians and aspiring candidates are too ashamed to speak to us in the language of our coolie forefathers, they should pack their bags and their manifestoes and take the next Air India flight to India, and wait there for the next general election in that country to practice their Shudh Hindi. We don’t need Indian political impostors in Fiji. Such candidates and Indo-Fijian leaders do not deserve our sympathy or votes.
Long live FIJI HINDI."
**Victor Lal, Fiji Sun Opinion Column, 2006**

The historical re-enactment of our past history, songs, suffering and tragedy in the language of our coolie ancestors - Fiji Hindi - during the Girmit celebrations is compelling proof why it must be our primary language in schools and in the day-to-day lives of the Indo-Fijians (and other races) who understand Fiji Hindi.

After all, Biman Prasad's wife Rajni and Ganesh Chand were given thousands of dollars to fly in Bhojpuri singers from Surinam, who we could relate to and understand, unlike the pseudo pompous BJP Hindi of BIMAN PRASAD and other Hindi speakers.

We also welcome KHATTA MITTHA BAT, a new book that was released on 11 May, that captures and promotes Fiji Hindi Sayings and Advice.

"Fiji Hindi is a language that arose from Indian indenture and is a source of knowledge and culture for the Indo-Fijian community. The language has a unique mix of Hindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri, English and Fijian vocabulary. As such, documenting it is now critical for language revitalisation efforts, and for supporting its use in communication and education within the Indo-Fijian community in Fiji and abroad." Editors, Khatta Mittha Bat*

Khatta Mittha Bàt: A New Book Preserving Fiji Hindi Sayings and Advice

Khatta Mittha Bàt has been produced by Farzana Gounder, Nikhat Shameem, and Jennifer Khan-Janif to help preserve and promote the Fiji Hindi language.

The book contains a collection of Fiji Hindi kahawat and advice, most linked with the evolution of Indo-Fijians as Girmit descendants and inheritors of a Girmit Hindustani identity and culture.

Fiji Hindi is a language that arose from Indian indenture and is a source of knowledge and culture for the Indo-Fijian community. The language has a unique mix of Hindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri, English and Fijian vocabulary. As such, documenting it is now critical for language revitalisation efforts, and for supporting its use in communication and education within the Indo-Fijian community in Fiji and abroad.

The book launch event was held at the University of Fiji, Samabula Campus on May 11, 2023. The book was launched by the chief guest Ambassador Robin Yarrow.

The book, which is published by the University of Fiji together with the Greenhouse Studio, is now available for purchase.

The book's editors acknowledge the contributors, including photographers, writers, artists, friends, family, muses, community members and participants of their orthography workshop in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand in May 2020. They are also grateful to UNESCO New Zealand for providing financial support for the workshop, which allowed them to trial and further standardise the Fiji Hindi orthography that was then used in the book.

The book's sayings cover core areas of wisdom, perseverance, identity, hope, respect, and resilience, and weave their way through the language's unique humour and irony along with the community’s history. The book includes the equivalent English meaning for each kahawat to provide greater understanding of context and flavour and for the enjoyment of a wider audience.

Khatta Mittha Bàt is an important step in documenting and promoting Fiji Hindi. The book's editors hope that the script used in this book will become widely adopted in the Indo-Fijian community and serve as an additional means of communication. Documenting Fiji Hindi allows linguists to study its unique features, grammar, and vocabulary, providing insights into the nature of language and how it evolves over time. It is a source of knowledge and culture for the Indo-Fijian community, containing unique information about their history, customs, and traditions.

"We are incredibly excited to share this book with you and hope that you will join us in celebrating the rich culture and history of Fiji Hindi. Khatta Mittha Bàt is a must-read for anyone interested in learning more about our language, remembering those who coined these sayings and honouring our community that speaks it," said the editors.

To get a copy of Khatta Mittha Bàt, please visit the University of Fiji Bookshop, Saweni or the University of Fiji online store. It is also available in Kindle version.

From Fijileaks Archive, 19 May 2023

In his keynote speech to the Rajni Chand-Ganesh Chand Global Girmit Institute sponsored two-day international conference at USP, Ahluwalia had compared the Girmitiyas* contribution to the development of modern Fiji with that of the Botany Bay Convicts and Criminals who, he claimed, laid the foundation for the development of modern day Australia.
'What a silly comparison and an insult to our Girmitiya* forefathers', howl many to us after his full speech was uploaded to YouTube recently.
About 162,000 male and female prisoners (criminals, convicts, prostitutes etc) were rounded up in England and from other parts of the British Empire and sent to Botany Bay in Sydney, Australia, between 1788 and 1868.

FIJI HINDI FAUX PAS: In his keynote speech Ahluwalia also incorrectly claims that Fiji Hindi is the only surviving Girmit Hindustani.
It is NOT true as SARNAMI has done heaps more to protect itself including legislation. There were a few Surinam delegates who would have been annoyed. The other Girmit* Hindustani are dying or dead.
*Ahluwalia is yet to answer a series of questions we have raised regarding USP academic Rajni Chand and her trusteeship of the Global Girmit Institute, and if USP benefitted financially from hosting the two day international conference where he was keynote SPEAKER.

Several potential voters wrote to me complaining that instead of speaking in the everyday Fiji Hindi to them, the candidates have been making speeches in Shudh (Standard/Correct) Hindi, a language a vast majority of the Indo-Fijian voters hardly understand.

A similar spectacle has been displayed during Question Time and Talk Back programmes on Fiji TV. I decided to watch the appearance of Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi of the Fiji Labour Party, Bimal Prasad of the National Federation Party, Shiu Ram of COIN Party and Dildar Shah of the National Alliance Party on these two programmes.

Again, a pathetic reoccurring pattern, as if Vayeshnoi, who is contesting the Nadroga Indian Communal seat, was reading a script out of the Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad Gita. When, all he was trying to do, was to explain his party’s manifesto (for which there is no Fiji Hindi word).

The other three were equally guilty, and at times I felt sorry for Shiu Ram, who even resorted to English to make his point, instead of opting to speak the language of the Indo-Fijian masses, and over 30 per cent of taukei Fijians – Fiji Hindi.

What is wrong with speaking Fiji Hindi? Are they ashamed of the language of their coolie forefathers? Why are these Indo-Fijian candidates contesting the Indian communal seats when they are by commission or omission, speaking to the voters in the language of ‘Mother India’.

For God’s sake, even Indian candidates, despite belonging to different political parties, speak in the 700 different dialects and languages to their prospective voters in India. A regional aspiring candidate in Madras will be speaking in Madrassi, and even the Communist candidate in Bengal will be pouting his Maoist and Stalinist propaganda in Bengali. The Italian-born Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the Congress Party, also speaks in a Hindi language which is understood by the vast majority of the voters.

More importantly, the candidates in Bihar would be speaking in Bhojpuri or Awadhi, from which the corrupt version of Fiji Hindi has originated in our country. So why can't our own aspiring Indo-Fijian politicians speak the language of their people?.

As Nemani Bainivalu, a University of the South Pacific Hindi graduate, and later a cultural assistant with the National Reconciliation Unit, had once pointed out, only 20 percent of Indo-Fijians can read and write their formal language.

Many Indo-Fijians cannot even read their holy books written in the Khadee Bolee dialect, and pass on religious teachings by word. I am not suggesting that Sudh Hindi be replaced in our education system, or that everyone should be writing novels like Dauka Puran by Professor Subramani of the Department of Literature and Language at the USP.

What I am protesting against is the gibberish Shudh Hindi that is being shoved down the throats of Indo-Fijian voters who are struggling to ‘swallow’ the words. The election message and manifestoes of the political parties would be better understood if the Indo-Fijian candidates resorted to the conversational Fiji Hindi at the hustings. It will also help bring the taukei Fijians into the campaign, especially the 30 per cent who speak the language, and many others who have a smattering command of it.

It must be made very clear to Indo-Fijian candidates that despite the teaching of Shudh Hindi and Urdu in schools, Fiji Hindi is an integral part of the identity and culture of the Indo-Fijian population. It is unique to Indo-Fijians in the world. The day Indo-Fijian politicians kill Fiji Hindi, they will be killing a part of their history and heritage in Fiji.

For no matter where one goes in the world, the moment one hears an Indo-Fijian open his mouth, one immediately asks him: ‘What part of Fiji are you from?’ In a similar vein, India Indians are able to separate us from them solely on the basis of our Fiji Hindi.

If the Indo-Fijian politicians and aspiring candidates are too ashamed to speak to us in the language of our coolie forefathers, they should pack their bags and their manifestoes and take the next Air India flight to India, and wait there for the next general election in that country to practice their Shudh Hindi. We don’t need Indian political impostors in Fiji.

Such candidates and Indo-Fijian leaders do not deserve our sympathy or votes.

Long live FIJI HINDI.

POWER COUPLE at Fiji High Commission. New allegations rock FHC as Fiji High Commissioner refuses to admit or deny that he brought partner not as Marama but MAID to London, by-passing Diplomatic PROTOCOLS

19/7/2024

NEW POWER COUPLE IN LONDON. As the failed SODELPA candidate and new Fiji High Commissioner to London JOVILISI SUVEINAKAMA's 'marama or maid' refuses to be photographed after recent scandals, his Executive Assistant MACA TURAGABECI and her husband FILIPE, a former British Army soldier, are allegedly lording it up in London.
*The power couple were spotted at the VIP box at Twickenham, courtesy of Maca's position at the Fiji High Commission in London.

FIJI HIGH COMMISSION DIPLOMATIC CAR. In early July the Coalition government advertised for a DRIVER to High Commissioner Suveinakama. We have been informed that Maca's husband Filipe was chosen as the High Commissioner's personal chauffeur.
However, since the couple live in West Midlands (Birmingham), it is alleged that they are now using the official car to travel down to London and return to the West Midlands with the car after official duties.
The diplomatic car has been spotted all over the south and north of England, with the couple allegedly using it for personal use.
*Until the husband was appointed the official chauffeur, Maca used to travel from West Midlands to London by National Express coach.

HOUSE OF WORSHIP: Those living in and around London have alleged to Fijileaks that as members of the All Nations Christian Fellowship, they have received invitations to attend Sunday church service at the Fiji High Commission in London.
If true, it is a violation of the Fiji High Commission as a secular* diplomatic building but also exposes the FHC building to all sorts of threats - fire, theft of confidential documents, and a burden on Fiji taxpayers to foot the extra bill for use of electricity, security etc.
In 2012, ANCF leader Rev. Epeli Ratabacaca was jailed for sex assault