The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) says it did not raid Fiji National University's Nasinu as claimed in some reports. The Commission however has confirmed it is investigating the institution's campus and details will be released later. “The word “raid” is likened to some sudden assault or attack as for something to be seized. It means force entry, incursion or invasion and we don’t do that here at FICAC or even associate ourselves with such a word in the nature of our work, said Nandini Vandhana, the Public Relations Officer of FICAC. .“These words are used in Syndicate Operation’s of drugs or other criminal offences, but not in fraud or corrupt related matters where the highest standard of diplomacy is employed to obtaining what we want to assist in our investigation,” she said. She added FICAC is a professional organization that upholds and values professionalism in its work ethic’s, and ensures that all its activities are done within the bounds of the law. Source: Fijilive, 13 November 2014; below Fijileaks headline:
FICAC raids Fiji National University HQ at Nasinu (from 10am-10pm) and carts away documents for alleged misuse of public funds; FICAC's investigation on FNU Vice Chancellor & other scams coming soon
Fijileaks Reader Comment:
Calling by wrong name has just posted a comment on your blog post, FICAC: 'We did not RAID FNU Nasinu HQ but Investigating" - Locking out staff for 12 hours, searching offices, taking computers, and documents is not called a raid, ah?:
FICAC people can get confused about the right name. A gentleman wrote to the Fiji Times today to let a lady from FICAC know that she had got his name wrong in a letter she had written to defend FICAC against his criticism.
I hope FICAC has a dictionary to help its officials with the meaning of the word RAID.
Letters to the Editor, Fiji Times, 13 November 2014:
FICAC response
THANK you Nandini Vandhana of FICAC (FT 12/10) for the reply to my letter which is much appreciated.
However, just a correction, my surname is not Sharma but Mishra. A simple mistake like this can put some one in hot soup or throw the case out of court.
Since you people are so concerned about corruption in the country and doing everything to get rid of it, I hope you have read the Auditor-General's report and are prepared to take action on people who have misused millions of taxpayers money in the last eight years.
Hope you people will also investigate the jobs given to people or companies without being advertised or tenders called for.
NARDEO MISHRA, Suva
EXCERPT FROM FICAC INVESTIGATION INTO FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY AND VICE-CHANCELLOR
FICAC raids Fiji National University HQ at Nasinu (from 10am-10pm) and carts away documents for alleged misuse of public funds; FICAC's investigation on FNU Vice Chancellor & other scams coming soon
Fijileaks Reader Comment:
Calling by wrong name has just posted a comment on your blog post, FICAC: 'We did not RAID FNU Nasinu HQ but Investigating" - Locking out staff for 12 hours, searching offices, taking computers, and documents is not called a raid, ah?:
FICAC people can get confused about the right name. A gentleman wrote to the Fiji Times today to let a lady from FICAC know that she had got his name wrong in a letter she had written to defend FICAC against his criticism.
I hope FICAC has a dictionary to help its officials with the meaning of the word RAID.
Letters to the Editor, Fiji Times, 13 November 2014:
FICAC response
THANK you Nandini Vandhana of FICAC (FT 12/10) for the reply to my letter which is much appreciated.
However, just a correction, my surname is not Sharma but Mishra. A simple mistake like this can put some one in hot soup or throw the case out of court.
Since you people are so concerned about corruption in the country and doing everything to get rid of it, I hope you have read the Auditor-General's report and are prepared to take action on people who have misused millions of taxpayers money in the last eight years.
Hope you people will also investigate the jobs given to people or companies without being advertised or tenders called for.
NARDEO MISHRA, Suva
EXCERPT FROM FICAC INVESTIGATION INTO FIJI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY AND VICE-CHANCELLOR
EXCHANGING DOCUMENTS FOR PRISON EDUCATION: FNU Vice-Chancellor Dr Ganesh Chand and FCS's Colonel Vasu
INMATES TO RECEIVE ACADEMIC TRAINING
Inmates at the Fiji Corrections Service (FCS) will now be able to receive academic training in the areas of professional development programmes, student attachment and research at the Fiji National University. This has been made possible through a partnership between the Fiji National University (FNU) and Fiji Corrections Service (FCS). FCS Commissioner, Lieutenant Colonel Ifereimi Vasu said the partnership will assist youth at the corrections centres to find work after being released from prison. Lt Col. Vasu said it was hard for the inmates to find jobs and there was no support from their families. “I understand if we can support them in terms of education, they will help the nation,” he said. He said he wanted the programmes to be tailor made to the demands of the labour market. FNU Vice Chancellor, Dr Ganesh Chand said the idea of an MOU between the two entities was mooted in 2008. “We have been discussing with the FCS on ways and means in which we as an educational institution can assist the services and particularly the inmates, on giving them appropriate skills for their after-prison life,” he said. Source: Fijilive, 13 November 2014
Inmates at the Fiji Corrections Service (FCS) will now be able to receive academic training in the areas of professional development programmes, student attachment and research at the Fiji National University. This has been made possible through a partnership between the Fiji National University (FNU) and Fiji Corrections Service (FCS). FCS Commissioner, Lieutenant Colonel Ifereimi Vasu said the partnership will assist youth at the corrections centres to find work after being released from prison. Lt Col. Vasu said it was hard for the inmates to find jobs and there was no support from their families. “I understand if we can support them in terms of education, they will help the nation,” he said. He said he wanted the programmes to be tailor made to the demands of the labour market. FNU Vice Chancellor, Dr Ganesh Chand said the idea of an MOU between the two entities was mooted in 2008. “We have been discussing with the FCS on ways and means in which we as an educational institution can assist the services and particularly the inmates, on giving them appropriate skills for their after-prison life,” he said. Source: Fijilive, 13 November 2014
Dinger Independent Corruption Commission decree: "The Fiji interim cabinet has approved creation of an Independent Commission against Corruption that is to report directly to the President. The Commission is charged to receive, investigate, and prosecute complaints in its own capacity, independent of the Director of Public Prosecution and the Fiji Police Force. The Commission will have powers of search, seizure, and arrest, and the mandate will include investigation of election irregularities. Since the coup, an "anti-corruption unit" under oversight of Deputy RFMF Commander Teleni and headed by Nasir Ali has been undertaking raids against businesses and government ministries on the basis of rumor and with no noticeable rule-of-law restraints. Presumably that unit will be subsumed within the new Commission. Interestingly, the anti-corruption unit and the Fiji Police competed this week to investigate the Ministry of Public Works. Police have had an investigation under way (slowly) since 2003. On March 28, they entered and seized documents only hours before anti-corruption unit officials arrived to do the same. Reportedly, the anti-corruption unit put its foot down and Police investigators are backing off." US Ambassador Larry Dinger to Washington, Wikileaks.
Fijileaks Editor: It's time to seriously consider 'handcuffs' and not handshakes! The 2006 coup made Fiji a magnetic Aladdin's cave for Indo-Fijians (some) who hid behind Bainimarama/Khaiyum's equality for all to plunder the country
ADHURA SAPNA (2007 Hindi Movie; the story, we are told, is about a hardworking Indian sugarcane farmer whose wife wants them to migrate overseas for greener pastures but at the same time she is cheating on him with another man). FIJILEAKS EDITOR: It is time to bring FNU allegations before a Special Investigation Commission, for FICAC has too much on its plate. The people of Fiji have been taken for a ride, and for too long, as if watching a movie - but these allegations are a reality that needs to be addressed, and SOON! We blame newspapers and that chap from MIDA, forgot his name, who went to Geneva to tell the world we need ethical journalism in Fiji! As Indo-Fijians, we should hold our heads in SHAME FOR WHAT OUR OWN PEOPLE HAD BEEN UP TO UNDER EIGHT YEARS OF DICTATORSHIP. We thought we had heard the last of the likes of Mahendra Chaudhry. The Modi Mania is another example of our collective amnesia - after all it was BJP which secretly gave Chaudhry the $2million, channelled through Indian Consulate in Sydney
And coming soon: What FICAC found on Agni Deo Singh, Member of the FNU Council
