STILL MISSING:
#And now its reward time for FF financiers and bootlickers!
The regime has lost no time in rewarding its big financiers and supporters in the 2014 general elections as evident in the appointment to the Fiji Airways board announced today.
The new names on the Fiji Airways board are: Sandip Patel of CJ Patel, Aslam Khan just retired Vodafone CEO, Stefan Pichler just retired Fiji Airways CEO continues as board member, and (believe it or not) Solicitor General Sarvanand Sharma.
Several of the appointees are clearly questionable. There are three major issues with the new appointments:
#1 There is no indigenous Fijian member on the Fiji Airways board- this is a radical and clearly racist departure from past practice which ensured that membership of statutory boards and State-owned companies were racially balanced. Note: Nalin Patel continues as board member.
#2 The problem of absentee members - Aslam Khan now resides in Geneva (or so we believe), Pichler is leaving to take over as CEO of Berlin Airlines, and Sandip Patel reportedly spends most of his time in Brisbane. What kind of commitment will these absentee board members have to Fiji Airways and to Fiji Tourism? Another noticeable departure from convention is the absence of any tourism representative on the board of the national airline.
#3 What is the Solicitor General doing sitting on the board of the national airline. For god's sake he is the Solicitor General - he must retain his independence and impartiality. He cannot be sitting on boards of State owned companies. This is similar to Chief Justice Gates and DPP Pryde going to Geneva to make representation before the working committee of the UN Human Rights Commission in favour of the State. What if a case appears before Gates challenging the violation of the very human rights issues he went to Geneva to support the State's stand on?
This is just the beginning, folks. Jobs for the boys and reward for services rendered to th e regime! Brace yourselves for more brazen violation of sound past practices and State regulations as rewards are handed out left, right and centre.