"The Minister is expected to subsequently inform Parliament of the outcome of the visit by way of a ministerial statement. Now, that is being accountable! I have observed that the Fiji First ministers have consistently flouted this rule. PM Bainimarama is paid a salary of around $1000 per day. He must account for it to the taxpayers by keeping them informed. This also raises the question of Cabinet meetings. I am reliably informed by government sources that the regular fortnightly Cabinet meetings are no longer held. Under Fiji First, government business, it seems, is no longer a matter of collective cabinet decision-making."
FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry
There is considerable speculation, fuelled by all kinds of rumours, on the whereabouts of Prime Minister Bainimarama and his deputy Sayed-Khaiyum.
At a time when the people are faced with an alarming rise in Covid-19 cases and the suffering inflicted by the recent massive flooding, it is natural that people should turn to their rulers for guidance and assistance- only to find nobody knows where they are. They have just disappeared without a word.
“This is simply not acceptable,” says Labour Leader Mahendra Chaudhry.
* “There are well-established conventional rules that the Prime Minister or, indeed, any of his ministers must observe whenever travelling out of the country.
* The rules require that an official media statement is issued informing the people of the official engagement and the duration of the overseas visit.
* The Minister is expected to subsequently inform Parliament of the outcome of the visit by way of a ministerial statement. Now, that is being accountable!
“I have observed that the Fiji First ministers have consistently flouted this rule,” Mr Chaudhry said.
* PM Bainimarama is paid a salary of around $1000 per day. He must account for it to the taxpayers by keeping them informed.
* This also raises the question of Cabinet meetings. I am reliably informed by government sources that the regular fortnightly Cabinet meetings are no longer held.
Under Fiji First, government business, it seems, is no longer a matter of collective cabinet decision-making.
Instead, most important decisions are now conveyed by way of directives from the TOP. And that is why there is so much inconsistency, confusion and chaos in the manner the government is run today.
Case in point is when a letter from my office addressed to the Prime Minister was being delivered to his office last month, the person was told to take it to the Attorney General’s office.
He insisted that the letter was addressed to the PM and he would deliver it to the PM’s office. His insistence prevailed.
“No wonder, many ask just who is running the show?” Mr Chaudhry said.
At a time when the people are faced with an alarming rise in Covid-19 cases and the suffering inflicted by the recent massive flooding, it is natural that people should turn to their rulers for guidance and assistance- only to find nobody knows where they are. They have just disappeared without a word.
“This is simply not acceptable,” says Labour Leader Mahendra Chaudhry.
* “There are well-established conventional rules that the Prime Minister or, indeed, any of his ministers must observe whenever travelling out of the country.
* The rules require that an official media statement is issued informing the people of the official engagement and the duration of the overseas visit.
* The Minister is expected to subsequently inform Parliament of the outcome of the visit by way of a ministerial statement. Now, that is being accountable!
“I have observed that the Fiji First ministers have consistently flouted this rule,” Mr Chaudhry said.
* PM Bainimarama is paid a salary of around $1000 per day. He must account for it to the taxpayers by keeping them informed.
* This also raises the question of Cabinet meetings. I am reliably informed by government sources that the regular fortnightly Cabinet meetings are no longer held.
Under Fiji First, government business, it seems, is no longer a matter of collective cabinet decision-making.
Instead, most important decisions are now conveyed by way of directives from the TOP. And that is why there is so much inconsistency, confusion and chaos in the manner the government is run today.
Case in point is when a letter from my office addressed to the Prime Minister was being delivered to his office last month, the person was told to take it to the Attorney General’s office.
He insisted that the letter was addressed to the PM and he would deliver it to the PM’s office. His insistence prevailed.
“No wonder, many ask just who is running the show?” Mr Chaudhry said.
 |  |
Government sources have confirmed that the Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, is in Australia for medical treatment. While no details have been made public, it is understood that the PM was treated in Canberra for his existing heart condition. The treatment is said to have been successful and Bainimarama will soon be returning to Fiji.
The Prime Minister's medical status - along with that of the Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum - has long been regarded as a state secret in Fiji. But both of them have cardiac conditions - the PM requiring stents that were first installed in Melbourne several years ago and have presumably just been replaced and the AG having undergone a heart bypass operation in Singapore last year.
The PM has gone to extraordinary lengths to cover up his medical trip to Australia. Ten days ago, he tweeted the following photograph of himself and his wife, Mary, on a shopping expedition in Marks Street, Suva, while denying rumours that he was in New Zealand. The posting carried the admonition that the Fijian people should not believe "fake news". Yet in the event, the only fake element was that the PM was leaving for Australia and not New Zealand.
Confirmation of the PM's treatment comes after fevered speculation about his whereabouts, including a Fiji TImes front page asking "Where Art Thou"? It was highly unusual for Bainimarama not to be visible during the twin national disasters of a cyclone and the third Covid wave. In previous cyclones, he has been in the front line of the response, wearing his customary "Navy" cap and in shorts and runners inspecting the damage and interacting with victims.
We now also know why the government's PR team - reportedly Vatis - was prompted to create its own fake news by publishing a photo on Facebook of the PM taken nearly a year ago and depicting it as a contemporary event. (see previous posting). It was an astonishingly inept attempt to mislead the public but demonstrates just how sensitive the leadership is about public attention being focussed on their uncertain health in the lead-up to the 2022 election.
As Grubsheet has already reported, the Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, has just returned to Fiji from Singapore, where it's a fair bet that he saw his doctors who performed the heart bypass operation on him last March. Such operations routinely require follow-up consultations. But the AG is also desperate to keep his cardiac condition from being public knowledge.
Whatever their attempts at secrecy, the base line is that both leaders of FijiFirst have health challenges going into what will be an extremely bruising election campaign, with all sorts of ramifications for public confidence in the ruling party and the country's future.
The Prime Minister's medical status - along with that of the Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum - has long been regarded as a state secret in Fiji. But both of them have cardiac conditions - the PM requiring stents that were first installed in Melbourne several years ago and have presumably just been replaced and the AG having undergone a heart bypass operation in Singapore last year.
The PM has gone to extraordinary lengths to cover up his medical trip to Australia. Ten days ago, he tweeted the following photograph of himself and his wife, Mary, on a shopping expedition in Marks Street, Suva, while denying rumours that he was in New Zealand. The posting carried the admonition that the Fijian people should not believe "fake news". Yet in the event, the only fake element was that the PM was leaving for Australia and not New Zealand.
Confirmation of the PM's treatment comes after fevered speculation about his whereabouts, including a Fiji TImes front page asking "Where Art Thou"? It was highly unusual for Bainimarama not to be visible during the twin national disasters of a cyclone and the third Covid wave. In previous cyclones, he has been in the front line of the response, wearing his customary "Navy" cap and in shorts and runners inspecting the damage and interacting with victims.
We now also know why the government's PR team - reportedly Vatis - was prompted to create its own fake news by publishing a photo on Facebook of the PM taken nearly a year ago and depicting it as a contemporary event. (see previous posting). It was an astonishingly inept attempt to mislead the public but demonstrates just how sensitive the leadership is about public attention being focussed on their uncertain health in the lead-up to the 2022 election.
As Grubsheet has already reported, the Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, has just returned to Fiji from Singapore, where it's a fair bet that he saw his doctors who performed the heart bypass operation on him last March. Such operations routinely require follow-up consultations. But the AG is also desperate to keep his cardiac condition from being public knowledge.
Whatever their attempts at secrecy, the base line is that both leaders of FijiFirst have health challenges going into what will be an extremely bruising election campaign, with all sorts of ramifications for public confidence in the ruling party and the country's future.
