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BRIBED INTO SILENCE? FRU insiders claim $60,000 forked out to send Bainimarama and family to World Cup rugby form of 'bribe' to halt legal pursuit of Vodafone Fiji led consortium over the $40m sponsorship deal  

16/9/2015

17 Comments

 
The Fiji Rugby Union has been forced to cancel its aggressive pursuit of the Vodafone-led consortium that holds the FRU’s sponsorship rights after the Sri Lankan chairman of Vodafone Fiji confirmed they would be paying for Frank Bainimarama and family members to attend the Rugby World Cup 2015 on a week-long "bribe" that will cost almost sixty thousand Fiji dollars.

Ajith Kodagoda, the ATH and Vodafone Fiji chairman, revealed: “As the head of Fiji Rugby Union in the country and as Prime Minister, Mr Bainimarama has a done a lot for the development and good administration of the sport in the country and deserves to be at the  Rugby World Cup.”

A target search of business class return airfares from Nadi to London leaving this week and returning in seven days, plus six nights accommodation in a 4-star hotel near the Fiji Embassy in Kensington, and Cardiff, shows this would cost approximately £8500 per person or $28,500. Or $57,000 based on a couple sharing a room. It’s believed that wife Mary will accompany the Prime Minister. This does not include any destination costs, like local transport, per diems or incidentals.

Vodafone’s sudden generosity is linked to startling revelations published last month by Fijileaks. Following a boisterous Annual General Meeting in April in which more than a dozen binding resolutions were passed, all deeply critical of the Vodafone-led consortium, the FRU sent an angry 5-page letter to Vodafone Fiji in June. This followed the failure of the mobile phone company to account for any of the promised $5m promotional support and spend which it was contracted to deliver in 2014, the first year of the agreement. In subsequent correspondence Vodafone flat out refused to itemise any element of expenditure but claimed $5m had definitely been spent.

The Vodafone-led consortium sponsorship was announced in early 2014 by the then-chairman Filimone Waqabaca (who was the PM’s nominee to the Board between 2013-2014). He and Vodafone confirmed a value of $40m over five years. In reality the cash component was only a little over $3m per year, less than what rivals Digicel had offered, and the deal was VAT-inclusive, which knocked a further 20 percent off the cash income. More than $5m per year was contracted to be delivered by the consortium partners in the form of loosely-worded promotional and marketing support and product.
 
Waqabaca was then PS Finance and bears ultimate responsibility for the costly fiasco. But he opted out of further involvement with the FRU this year, and has been put forward as the new ambassador to New Zealand, leaving Rugby House to clean up the mess he made.

The June 12 2015 letter sent in the name of the FRU chief executive officer Radrodro Tabualevu was emailed and hand-delivered to Vodafone CEO Pradeep Lal. In the letter the FRU gave Vodafone a 30-day termination notice on the controversial 5-year $40m sponsorship agreement, alleging that Vodafone was in breach for failing to account for more than $5 million worth of promised marketing support in the first year of the agreement.

The June 12 letter was copied to Frank’s brother-in-law Francis Kean, parachuted onto the Board by his brother-in-law as the Prime Minister’s nominee and once installed was elected as FRU chairman. As well as Kean, the Prime Minister himself was copied (as president of the Fiji Rugby Union), and Kodagoda as the chairman of ATH, the parent company of Vodafone Fiji Ltd. The last person copied was the FRU’s deputy chairman and director legal, the Maori legal activist Carl Ngaki-Cameron.

It’s not clear who within the Consortium will bear the cost of this extraordinary payment. Kodagoda can speak on behalf of Vodafone Fiji as that company’s chairman, as well as ATH (which owns Telecom Fiji, another member of the consortium). He is also still an office holder at the CJ Patel Group (listed as Group Financial Controller), another member of the Vodafone consortium, and owners of Fiji Sun. As chairman of the FNPF, Kodagoda also authorised the controversial loan extended to Fiji Airways for their three leased Airbus A330s, with Fiji Airways yet another consortium sponsor.

The FRU’s letter accused Vodafone Fiji Ltd, owned by ATH, itself is owned by the Fiji National Provident Fund, of ‘misleading’ the FRU and allegedly ‘defrauding’ it by virtue of their refusal to provide any proof of expenditure.

But it’s understood that Bainimarama's acceptance of this $57,000 "bribe" brings the legal pursuit of Vodafone and its consortium partners to a close, with none of the issues resolved and Fiji rugby heading in to another three lean years because of the inadequacy of the deal that was signed off by Cameron, as the director legal.

Like many of the expats involved in this FRU sponsorship saga, from the expat Cameron to the Sri Lankan Kodagoda, the ATH boss fails to get his facts right and shows his naivety when it comes to Fiji’s number one sport: Bainimarama’s position as president of the FRU does not make him the head of the sport in the country because the president’s position is an honorary one. The position of head of the sport belongs to his brother-in -law Francis Kean, as FRU chairman.

Kodagoda’s  expat colleague Nouzab Fareed, head of Fijian Holdings, shocked members of the Fiji 7s team at a function by saying he expected the national 7s team to win gold at the Olympics as well the Rugby World Cup (a 15-a-side competition).

Freeloading Frank Bainimarama has a long history of attending high-profile sports event. In 2013, he visited Moscow for the RWC 7s – Fiji performed poorly – but it was during discussions with Russian government officials on that same trip that he was talked into the disastrous deployment of Fijian soldiers in Syria under a UN peacekeeping mandate but with Russian equipment. A year later, in August 2014, 44 Fijian soldiers were kidnapped by militants and only released when, reportedly, a multi-million dollar ransom was paid.
17 Comments
Dekho
15/9/2015 11:43:39 pm

I had predicted when this matter was first highlighted by Fijileaks that the RWC body was not going to give free tickets for the Bainimarama mob that Bainimarama's business mates will provide them with the free trip and tickets.

Reply
A Hobbit
16/9/2015 12:56:10 am

Factually incorrect about Francis Kean's "parachuted in". He won majority vote at the FRU election. This was the result of the support he got from Eastern and Northern unions whom Suva Rugby Union (of which he was then chair and now president) supported in 2014/15 after many of these teams faced financial difficulties during the Skipper Cup tournaments.

Reply
Rugby House writes
16/9/2015 08:35:51 am

This is not fsctually incorrect. Please see below the press release issued by the FRU following the AGM. Francis Kean is not mentioned as having been elected onto the FRU board in April 2014. News of his appointment by the PM was broken by Fijileaks and was first confirmed when his name was included as FRU chairman in the celebrations to mark Fiji's winning of the HSBC 7s Series.

http://www.fijirugby.com/latest-news/fru-agm-concludes-today-new-board-also-appointed/

Reply
Rugby House writes
16/9/2015 01:08:00 pm



This is not factually incorrect. Please see below the press release issued by the FRU following the AGM in April 2015. The press release makes clear that Francis Kean was not elected on to the FRU board in April 2015. News of his appointment by the PM was broken by Fijileaks, and was first publicly confirmed when his name was included as FRU chairman in the celebrations programme that marked Fiji's winning of the HSBC 7s Series in May 2015.

http://www.fijirugby.com/latest-news/fru-agm-concludes-today-new-board-also-appointed/

maropito
16/9/2015 04:26:37 am

It is a record when bai watching Fiji rugby they never win any game. It is expected that Fijian will loose all the game as in the last world cup and will be last on the ladder.

Reply
rajend naidu
16/9/2015 05:21:17 am

Editor,
President Robert Mugabe the 91 yo Dictator of Zimbabwe gave the wrong speech at the opening of parliament, one he had already given sometime back!
But nobody was bold enough to point that out whilst he he giving the speech. This is what happens in a dictatorship. People are bullied into silence.
Wrongs are never pointed out. And, the country continues to go to the dogs.
Sincerely,
Rajend Naidu

Reply
maropito
16/9/2015 07:10:34 am

Bainimarama went to London to rig the rugby game.

Reply
Gut Wrenching
16/9/2015 07:13:02 am

Speaker in Australia had to resign because of her $6000 helicopter ride at public expense.
NSW premier resigned because he could not recollect $3000 bottle of wine gifted to him.
So it's gut Wrenching that PM Bainimara is gifted $60000 of Public Monies and is viewed as normal.Vodafone is half owned by members of FNPF, again a statutory organisation.
This is more worrying than water lapping up our doors in the Pacific.

Reply
Chiku
16/9/2015 08:53:26 am

Remember in a dictatorship there is no accountability . The dictator and his sycophants can do whatever they want to do and get away with it.that is the difference between Fiji and Australia. Australia for all its flaws is a democracy and public office holders are held to account.
Fiji is still a dictatorship pretending to be a parliamentary democracy.

Reply
Rupeni Matautoga link
16/9/2015 08:19:58 am

You have said it all,but for fini to loose all games than even to Uruguay will show that cprruption is complete in fjij and+we+are left to a future of bankruptcy,do we deseve that?

Reply
saga
16/9/2015 09:35:09 am

Vodafone is owned by FNPF which is owned by members. the profits of vodafone flows to ultimately members via fnpf. It is membrrs funds being given as bribe to bainimarama. Ajit kodakoda approving this illegitmate expenditure should step down from yhe position. Its waste of members funds and abuse of office and position.

Reply
Dekho Socho Samjho
16/9/2015 12:27:16 pm

Anything which reduces pensions for retirees is unacceptable.

Ajit, is this a bribe for all your appointments by the govt ?

Reply
Rustam
16/9/2015 11:17:20 am

Look, the puppet is pacified. Peace has a price…and 60K came cheap.

Now, let the puppet, the puppet family and the rest of us enjoy Rugby in peace.

Let the game begin. Go Fiji Go!

Reply
Bahuki
16/9/2015 11:54:22 am

I smelled this coming the moment I heard Frankie wanting to go and show his support by watching the opening game against England in the RWC2015.

He clearly is no different from those ripoffs in Vodumbfone who love stealing actual funds from customers with pathetic recharge promos that don't last longer than a few days.

Reply
what a f..... joke!!
16/9/2015 12:21:43 pm

is it worth for franky to go there when it is patently obvious
that Fiji will NOT WIN a single game in the world cup!!!!!

why waste the money when it can be given to the poor.

Reply
Chiku
16/9/2015 08:08:30 pm

So 9 long years after Bainimarama's bullshit " clean up " coup the stench of corruption remains solid in Fiji. And, what's more Bainimarama is himself perpetuating the corruption and the stench.
It just confirms to me that the man did the coup for his own selfish interest and greed for power and special privileges acquired by having his hand in the national kitty and through his bribe giving corporate mates.

Reply
Dimoh
16/9/2015 10:46:59 pm

So what's going to happen? Almost everyone talks against this government.. But what happens? Seriously, complaint here and there.. But what? What happens? Just saying...

Reply

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