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*According to USP insiders, long before many kocokoco (greedy) Fiji parliamentarians voted for increase in per diem travel allowance, attracting public wrath and condemnation, VC Pal Ahluwalia was already receiving it because his residence is listed as Samoa.
**As far as Suva is concerned the couple, argue USP insiders, already have a big house provided by the USP, so there is no need for the couple to stay in Holiday Inn or other expensive hotels in Fiji, and charge USP excessive per diems.
*The same insiders argue that the USP has hundreds of positions unfilled, despite in the last Coalition government budget USP got an additional $F20million.
*They are asking: 'Where is the money going as it is not used for advertising and filling vacant positions.'
*There are academic staff who teach more than double loads during semesters. Some are receiving medical treatment for various diseases associated with the workload. They are burned out, have musculoskeletal disorders, and severe eye problems (doing eye-straining computer work whole day).
*For many years it has been USP policy that University staff get 75% of the United Nations per diem rates when they travel on USP business.
*This policy is still observed for most destinations but not in case of travel to Suva and Nadi which attracts a considerably higher per diem rate than the UN would pay their staff.
*According to official USP documents (see attached) the United Nations per diem rate for Suva is $F510 per day. The USP per diem rate was $F383 a day until 2022.
*According to documents from USP, the per diem rates for USP staff increased in the year 2023 to $F615, an increase of 60.6 percent compared to the year before.
*In 2024 it further increased to $F731 but only for those staff staying at GPH, Tanoa & Holiday Inn. For USP staff traveling on USP business per diem rates for other hotels in Suva declined to $F477 per day.
*The GPH, Tanoa and Holiday Inn increased from $F383 by the end of 2022 to $F731 by March 2024. This is an increase by 90.9 percent within 14 months.
*Many at USP who are aware of these changes say that the main person who has benefited (and continues to) from these huge increases in per diem rates is the VCP Pal Ahluwalia. Since he runs USP out of Samoa he is entitled to receive a per diem for every day he spends in Suva. This has been fairly often over the months. He usually stays at Holiday Inn, meaning that his per diem is $F731 per day in 2024, and was $F615 in 2023.
*It is also strange that the VCP obviously approved the changes in per diem rates. This means a conflict of interest as he is the one who benefits most from the sharp increase in USP per diem rates for Suva.
*When people ask how Fijian MPs possibly can decide their own remuneration, the same question can be put to Pal Ahluwalia regarding his per diem and stay in Suva.
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