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COVID Deaths and dripping blood on his hands and yet Khaiyum talks of providing sanitary pads to schoolgirls in his coming Budget. GRAHAM Davis: 'A-G is suffering from the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)

22/6/2021

"As if no-one was having periods for the past 15 years of this government. Seriously." - GRAHAM DAVIS

BOTTOMS UP FOR AIYAZ SAYED KHAIYUM

Fiji's new Yogi master Mahendra Reddy as Indian Covid variant reeks havoc on Fiji

SEWAGE DEFENCE: Instead of confronting Khaiyum, REDDY SUCKS UP to the NPD. "DALO SUCKER MINISTER" jumps to defend Khaiyum in Parliament, 2 June

ENVIRONMENT OF MADNESS GRIPS FFP:
Is the Minister for Sewage and Waterways now suffering from "Stockholm Syndrome" by supporting his NPD BULLY BOSS?

The Finance Minister’s position is one of a book-keeper. He receives submissions from ministries, puts all submission in a basket and distributes available resources to various ministries. The various ministries undertake and run their ministries as per the budgetary allocation. The Finance Ministry provides an oversight on financial disbursement and management to ensure that books are properly kept. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we do not need a Master’s Degree in Economics, we do not need a PhD in Economics to be an Economy Minister, rather you need intellectual capacity to articulate the long- term path to articulate the national vision of a Government. You need intellectual capacity to reign in all ministries and statutory bodies to remain on the path to a common vision."
Mahendra Reddy, Minister for Sewage among other things
Fijileaks: Not along ago, he was planning to defect to NFP at
the next election. He had, had, ENOUGH of Khaiyum bullying AND humiliating him. After all, Reddy was hoping to be Finance Minister. Now, is he is suffering from "Stockholm Syndrome" by supporting his
NPD Bully BOSS?
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response. It occurs when hostages or abuse victims bond with their captors or abusers. This psychological connection develops over the course of the days, weeks, months, or even years of captivity or abuse. Frank Bainimarama is already a willing victim to Khaiyum's manipulation of his weaknesses.
Mahendra Reddy on Aiyaz Khaiyum in Parliament, 2 June 2021:

HON. DR. M. REDDY.- Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to speak on the motion by Honourable Kuridrani, who is asking that the Standing Committee on Natural Resources undertake a review of the non-sugar sector. I wish to explain why I will not support the motion, why it is not required, why it is a waste of our time and why this motion demonstrates lack of knowledge and understanding of what is happening in the agricultural sector and the economy. Mr. Speaker, Sir, before I do that, I need to explain economic realities because agriculture does not operate on its own, but on economic direction and leadership.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to respond to the question made by the Honourable Tabuya and Honourable Nawaikula for the Minister for Economy to resign, saying he is not functioning well or he is the Minister for everything. First of all, let me explain how the Ministry of Economy portfolio is very different from the portfolio of a Minister of Finance.

The Finance Minister’s position is one of a book-keeper. He receives submissions from ministries, puts all submission in a basket and distributes available resources to various ministries. The various ministries undertake and run their ministries as per the budgetary allocation. The Finance Ministry provides an oversight on financial disbursement and management to ensure that books are properly kept.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, where is the collective vision of the Government? Who ensures that all the ministries work in tandem and combine resources for efficient service delivery? Who ensures that all ministries target the common vision of the Government to improve living standards in quality of life, to deliver inter-generational equity on resource evaluation, consumption and quality of life, to invest in soft and hard infrastructure for long term consumption? It is not the Finance Minister who can do that, Mr. Speaker, Sir, but the Minister for Economy. The question is, who then should be the Economy Minister? The person should be the leader of the Party as they formulate the vision which is super-imposed on government vision. It is for this reason that it is only critical that party leaders, the top two, should not only formulate but lead and execute the economic vision of the party and the Government.

1336 Standing Committee on Natural Resources to Review 2nd June, 2021 Performance of Non-Sugar Agriculture

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we do not need a Master’s Degree in Economics, we do not need a PhD in Economics to be an Economy Minister, rather you need intellectual capacity to articulate the long- term path to articulate the national vision of a Government. You need intellectual capacity to reign in all ministries and statutory bodies to remain on the path to a common vision. Is the Minister for Economy entrusted with the overall direction of the Government? Ministries and all statutory bodies work in tandem so that the common vision is delivered.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, ability, charisma, skill sets diplomatically liaise with development partners, internal agencies to attract technical and financial resources, is a critical attribute that the person must have. The Honourable Attorney-General and the Minister for Economy has clearly demonstrated time and again his ability and attributes on that front. Who else other than Honourable Attorney- General has these combined skillsets?

HON. L.D. TABUYA.- A Point of Order, Mr. Speaker. I am just waiting to see when he will actually get to his Ministry and the motion. He needs to speak to the motion at hand which is on non-sugar agriculture, not come here and to carry on with this grandstanding. Please, refer to your Ministry and what is the motion, thank you.

HON. DR. M. REDDY.- I will explain.

HON. SPEAKER.- Honourable Minister, you have the floor.

HON. DR. M. REDDY.- Mr. Speaker, Sir, he has deep understanding of the commercial realties and private sector experience. I had the pleasure working under him when I was Chairman of the then Commerce Commission and now FCCC. I too, like some academics and some in the academia, was thinking that a commercial sector functions as articulated in the textbook. But I must say that I learnt a lot from the Honourable Attorney-General on dealing with the commercial sector while I was working under him and I wish to continue to support him while holding this important portfolio as Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with the Opposition’s personal hatred for Honourable Attorney-General and their obsession with ethnicity, they cannot see these qualities in him. It is a shame. Honourable Tabuya said they can better run the economy and if they are in Government, the economy will be much better. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was wondering what his magic strategy was. Albeit he slipped last week and revealed our strategy.
When they come into Government, they will establish printers all over Fiji. They will print money, give it out to everyone so people will line up.

HON. OPPOSITION MEMBERS.- Oh!

HON. DR. M. REDDY.- Yes, she said it, Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is on record in the Daily

Hansard.

HON. L.D. TABUYA.- A Point of Order! The Honourable Minister is misleading the House in saying that I said, “We should establish printers all over Fiji” the Reserve Bank of Fiji. Please, quote properly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

HON. DR. M. REDDY.- She said “print the money.” HON. SPEAKER.- Order, order!

The Parliament adjourned at 12.32

FIVE-STAR QUARANTINE for COVID Carrier Suspect AIYAZ Khaiyum and FILTHY Living Conditions for those in Isolation at ADI Cakobau School

20/6/2021

$60MILLION "VACCINE
CON SALESMAN":

On 28 February 2021, while speaking during the Virtual Public Budget Consultation from Singapore, Aiyaz Khaiyum boasted he was willing to pay for the vaccines even if it costs up to $60million.
JOHN FEAKES, can you tell Australian Taxpayers where is the $200m
you gave to Fiji's Minister for Everything, Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum?

CASTE DIVIDE: Just look at those charged with fighting COVID in Fiji, compared to those languishing in filthy isolation locations

FRIENDFIJI reaches out with basic grocery to Suva-Nausori FAMILIES

18/6/2021

FRIENDFIJI steps in as Minister Reddy sucks up to Imbecile Khaiyum

The Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises Development or FRIEND says struggling families in areas from Wainadoi to Logani can now apply for basic grocery assistance.

FRIEND has joined forces with major food delivery service provider, Food Well Fiji to assist the people in the Suva-Nausori containment area.

Director, Sashi Kiran says they know everyone is impacted and the first priority will be given to people dependent on the informal sector and who do not have access to FNPF or social welfare benefits.

Kiran says they received 300 applications for help from the Suva containment area two weeks ago and they discussed with their partners on the ground and decided to support people.

She says they received 800 applications on the first day.

Kiran says they will be assisting people specifically outside the lockdown areas unless they get request from government officials or health teams as they know lockdown areas are high risk areas and they only work with government officials if their services are required.

She says they are glad that containment and lockdown areas are covered by the Ministry of Economy.

Kiran says they are still getting a lot of applications from Nadi

and has reiterated that the criteria is strict and not everybody qualifies for assistance. She says people on social support and FNPF assistance do not qualify for the assistance and only those who are extremely poor and are in informal settlements with no other benefits are the ones qualifying.

They are also coordinating with a few of other NGOs to avoid double dipping.

Kiran also highlights that for the first time in their two decades of organizational history, they have had outpouring of donations from people.

She adds businessman, William Parkinson from Parkinson Foundation has donated for the Suva Containment Zone and the rest of the money for this zone is coming through citizen donations.

FRIEND has assisted around 40,000 people with basic food items, seeds and seedlings as well as baby and disability support items since the second wave of COVID-19 cases earlier this year.

You can download the form for Food Relief for Suva and Nausori Containment areas on Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises & Development Facebook page. SOURCE: FijiVillage News

FRIENDFIJI gets another helping hand. British High Commission signs grant agreement with Kiran to set up new Telehealth Service for Fijians

17/6/2021

COVID UPDATE:
Fiji Airways 10 April Indian Covid Variant has now affected 1,443 Fijians of all races. Of those, currently about 1,000 are still sick. That is one is every 850 inhabitants. FIVE Dead

Founder and President, Mainaz Nazrin Ali says they came up with the idea to provide sanitary items to families in Nawaka after reading a post that women and girls are using old socks, newspapers, towels and rags as sanitary pads.

Ali says they have also received 40 requests for baby items from needy mothers and they have got donations from the staff of HFC Bank in Nadi and items will be distributed tomorrow.
Ali who is a teacher and also lives in the lockdown area in Nawaka says it is heartbreaking to see the suffering of fellow Fijians. Source: FijiVillage News

NAPPY SHORTAGE?
NOT for this CRY BABY OF FIJI who is hiding $200million of Australian taxpayers money

Professor BRIJ LAL on the USP Saga and Fall Out: Australia miserably failed to side with USP and Ahluwalia, for it wants to curry favour with Fiji to counter Chinese Dragon in South Pacific. NZ sided with AUSTRALIA

16/6/2021

"The reputation of Australia and New Zealand has also suffered greatly. Both these countries are key players in the region and important benefactors of the regional university and other institutions. Both showed a strange, unaccustomed lack of courage and leadership in the USP saga. They saw the tussle between Prof Ahluwalia and the key senior players of the USP administration as a problem between individuals rather than as a manifestation of a deeper structural problem, which is Fiji’s determination to have a lion’s share of say in the management and running of the university. Instead of demanding transparent accountability from those implicated in Prof Ahluwalia’s investigation, they bent over backwards to accommodate Fiji or, at best, to look the other way. Australia particularly is currying favour with Fiji for larger strategic reasons of its own and is therefore reluctant to be forthright in its responsibilities. China’s presence in the South Pacific region looms large in Australia’s thinking. It mistakenly thinks that by supporting Fiji, they might be able to restrain Fiji’s current China enthusiasm. Fiji, for its part, is acutely aware of the power of the China card it has in its hands and will play it to its maximum advantage irrespective of its broader regional implications. The way Australia and New Zealand have behaved during the USP saga has not been unnoticed in the region. It has damaged their own reputation in places where they sought to assert their influence." Professor Brij Lal

Brij Lal

In early February 2021, the Fijian Government summarily revoked USP vice-chancellor Prof Pal Ahluwalia’s work permit and deported him and his wife Sandra Price for allegedly breaching some as yet unspecified breaches of the Fiji Immigration Act.

Fiji’s heavy-handed unilateral decision caused consternation among the twelve member countries of the Pacific region who collectively ‘own’ the regional university, claiming correctly that the business of hiring and firing the head of the regional organisation was the prerogative of the University Council, not of any one member of it.

To the extent that Fiji thought its unilateral action was justified, it was clearly wrong. In early June, the USP Council finally delivered justice to Pal Ahluwalia by giving him a new three-year contract with an option for another two.

It further agreed to have the VC relocate to the university’s Samoa Campus, already the home of its Agriculture School. Fiji’s loss is Samoa’s huge gain.

Fiji cavilled at the legality of the USP Council’s decision, without understanding that the contract was given pursuant to the provisions of the USP Charter. Political points were being manufactured out of nothing.

But if illegality was the issue, as the Fijian Attorney-General claimed, then why not have the matter tested in a court of law, preferably outside Fiji, and be done with it rather than making a political football of it and in the proses impugning the character and competence of the University Council to its own detriment.

Similarly, if some appointments or promotions at the university were deemed questionable, why not have them transparently investigated, too?

Fiji will unfortunately not let USP alone. Its over-extended but indefatigable A-G, a prime mover behind the scenes, will keep the USP pot boiling for some time under one pretext or another.

The turbulence at the university came at a particularly inopportune moment in regional affairs when the strength and integrity of regional organisations were under threat.

There was Fiji’s temper tantrums regarding Australia’s and New Zealand’s membership of the Pacific Islands Forum and its sponsorship of a rival Pacific Islands Development Forum which went no where.

Then, most recently, was the decision of the Federated States of Micronesia to walk away from the Forum when its turn to nominate the Forum’s Secretary General was disregarded.

And there are ongoing internal political crises in individual island countries which have potentially negative implications for regional affairs.

One hopes that the virus of dissension and instability will not extend to other regional institutions such as the Forum Fisheries Agency, South Pacific Regional Environment Program, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, among others.

One thing the region needs above all else at the moment is solidarity to meet the challenges facing small island nations: the challenges of climate change, global health crises, environmental degradation, poverty, among many others. Solidarity rather than fragmentation is the crying need of the day for small island states.

The USP saga has brought un-sought spotlight on Fiji. It seems as clear as broad daylight to me that Fiji’s decision to deport Prof Ahluwalia and his partner, was not because he had breached some unspecified sections of the Fijian Immigration Act but because he exposed apparent breaches of good governance practices by the higher echelons of the USP administration implicating, Fiji citizens close to the FijiFirst Government of Voreqe Bainimarama.

I believe that this in the end is what triggered Fiji’s brutal reaction. Fiji’s reaction was sadly predictable. Deporting or otherwise harassing real and imagined opponents has become the modus operandi of the Fijian administration.

Fiji though is the biggest loser in the USP saga. Its reputation for fairness and probity in regional affairs is at its lowest ebb ever.

In truth, it has been on the wane since the Bainimarama coup of 2006 which overthrew a democratically elected government headed by an indigenous Fijian, Laisenia Qarase. The sense in the region, as I have been told on many occasions, is that Fiji is wilfully insensitive to the needs and concerns of its smaller neighbours and will try to use any means to have its way among them.

Fiji once enjoyed the unqualified esteem of its neighbours through consensus. Now it is seeking to assert its dominance through bullish behaviour. It will be a long time before Fiji again regains a semblance of its former place.

There are other casualties as well. The reputation of Australia and New Zealand has also suffered greatly. Both these countries are key players in the region and important benefactors of the regional university and other institutions. Both showed a strange, unaccustomed lack of courage and leadership in the USP saga. They saw the tussle between Prof Ahluwalia and the key senior players of the USP administration as a problem between individuals rather than as a manifestation of a deeper structural problem, which is Fiji’s determination to have a lion’s share of say in the management and running of the university.

Instead of demanding transparent accountability from those implicated in Prof Ahluwalia’s investigation, they bent over backwards to accommodate Fiji or, at best, to look the other way.

Australia particularly is currying favour with Fiji for larger strategic reasons of its own and is therefore reluctant to be forthright in its responsibilities. China’s presence in the South Pacific region looms large in Australia’s thinking.

It mistakenly thinks that by supporting Fiji, they might be able to restrain Fiji’s current China enthusiasm. Fiji, for its part, is acutely aware of the power of the China card it has in its hands and will play it to its maximum advantage irrespective of its broader regional implications.

The way Australia and New Zealand have behaved during the USP saga has not been unnoticed in the region. It has damaged their own reputation in places where they sought to assert their influence.

In a recent meeting of the USP Council, a representative from Fiji broke rank and made the pertinent point about not overlooking at the human dimension of the story rather than simply talking about individuals in the abstract.

He had Prof Ahluwalia in mind and what he had been put through. Ironically, the very person FijiFirst government sought to demonise, has emerged as the biggest winner of them all.

On surface, Prof Ahluwalia’s vindication and re-appointment may seem a bit of a mystery, but there are in fact many reasons for it. In the first place is the man himself. What kind of person is Pal Ahluwalia?

The Kenyan-born Canadian academic with extensive research, teaching and administrative experience in Canada, the US and the UK and Australia, is no ordinary garden variety academic.

He is an unassuming, fundamentally decent human being. He is a respected scholar of African politics and a Fellow of the Australian Social Sciences Academy no less.

He understands and practises the values and principles which underpin academic life. This is transparent and palpable. He is a multi-talented person: a sometime disciple, shagird, of renowned Pakistani tabla maestro Ustad Tari Khan. He is at home in several languages.

He is multicultural in his outlook and values to the core. And he is a person of deep spirituality, a devout Sikh, a lifelong vegetarian and teetotaller for whom praying is an integral part of his daily routine.

This perhaps more than anything, explains his incredible rapport with his students and staff, many of who themselves come from deep faith-based cultures. He often prayed with them publicly.

He and Sandra Price regularly opened their vice chancellor’s house for shared meals and casual fellowship with members of the university community in a way that had never happened before.

A Kenyan born Indian person with quintessential Pacific sensibilities! In modern lingo, he was a true ‘Pacifican’. It became clear to everyone that this elderly couple was an integral part of the university community, not apart or above it. The vice chancellor never stood on protocol or rank. The contrast with his predecessor was stark. The two were chalk and cheese in their persona.

Slightly more perplexing at first glance is Prof Ahluwalia’s striking rapport with regional leaders who have been among his staunchest supporters.

Part of this may have to do with their disenchantment with the former USP regime and Fiji’s capricious behaviour and the un-Pacific way he was treated by them. But there is no doubt that there is genuine regard for a person who is principled and completely at home in regional settings.

In this regard, he resembles Dr James Maraj of Trinidad, one of USP’s former vice chancellors. The sight of a rolly-polly Pal in the company of rolly-polly Pacific leaders is endearing.

USP holds a special place in the hearts and minds of those of us who studied there during their salad days. It was for us a place of learning which opened windows on the unexplored and even unknown world beyond the horizon, and set us on a path of adventure and exploration that took us to the pinnacle of our professions.

It was also a place of youthful romance for many of us, a place where we formed cross-cultural friendships across the region which have lasted a lifetime. For our networking and influence in the region, we were sometimes affectionately dubbed the “USP Mafia”. We, for our part, wore that as a badge of honour.

Fiji retains a special place in my heart as well even though we, my wife and I, have been banned for life from returning to the country of our birth. I genuinely want Fiji to do well, to have its proper place at the table.

But I also accept as a matter of reality that Fiji stands diminished in a region where it once held sway.

The current course it has set for itself is counterproductive to its own long-term interests in the region of which it is inextricably a part both by the logic of its history and the realities of its geography.

PROFESSOR BRIJ V LAL is a Fiji-born USP alumni and author of many books. He now resides in Brisbane. The views expressed are the author’s and do not reflect the views of this newspaper. Source: The Fiji Times, Saturday, 12 June 2021

TIME TO CALL ON THE BAILIFFS: Khaiyum owes USP $60million

Fiji has not fully given its grants to the University of the South Pacific over the past three years, amounting to $59.95 million, says chancellor and Nauru president Lionel Aingimea.

And he said Fiji’s annual contribution of $34.3 million was because the country had the highest number of students attending USP.

“It also benefits the most through income tax, rent, travel, transport, medical and the purchase of goods and services by the staff and students that attend and are employed by the university,” Mr Aingimea said

The reality was the Fiji Government “has not paid the full amount in recent years”.

“In 2019, it was short $7.8 million and $17.75 million in 2020. This year a contribution has not been made by Fiji, which gets back nine times its contribution.”

Mr Aingimea said as a former lecturer at USP, the reports and issues facing the university were not new to him, he said they were “long-standing issues”.

“So maybe it’s about time the region spoke out. This is a regional university. It doesn’t belong to any one country.”

POLISHING HIS DIPLOMATIC CV?
John FEAKES using FIJI to curry favour with Canberra

WAILEI, Khaiyum! The Imbecile wheels out some faceless Waila woman's Viber message to him to claim irresponsbile politicians, individuals, and media outlets politicising COVID outbreak. He brought the virus into FIJI

15/6/2021

Fijileaks: Reveal Khaiyum's Covid Test Result when he was in Quarantine

REALLY SUCKS:
Now, Mahendra Reddy dishes out DALO SUCKERS

GRAHAM DAVIS responds to Khaiyum: 'Seriously, appalling hypocrite...'

"I am paying for my medical costs in Singapore and it is not paid by the Fijian government or taxpayers." Khaiyum, 28 February 2021
SEND MEDICAL BILL TO AIYAZ KHAIYUM. He has stashed away $170million John Feakes got from Australian taxpayers

FIJI overtakes INDIA in rolling 7-day average, just behind United Kingdom

FLYING AIYAZ KHAIYUM'S FLAG on AUSTRALIA'S BEHALF IN FIJI: John Feakes should head to DOWN UNDER instead of talking HERD Immunity. He's keeping Fiji's tottering economy on ventilator with no accountability

14/6/2021

Fijileaks: One can argue that what Feakes is doing by throwing Australian taxpayers money is geo-politics. The Aussies have lost their soul. They are competing with China. They refuse to accept that Bainimarama will stay with China for personal cash as he needs and wants. Feakes is naive or maybe even a Bloody FOOL

MASKING FIJI'S ECONOMY WOES

Almost a third of the 42 Britons who have so far died from the Indian (Delta) Covid had been double jabbed, a Public Health England report has revealed. The PHE report suggests the Indian variant has a 64 per cent increased risk of household transmission compared to the Kent (Alpha) variant.
WHO brought Indian COVID into Fiji on 10 April 2021?

MASKING UP INEFFICIENCY:
"In 2019, we assessed all elements of Fiji's public financial management, from the budget, budgetary processes, to the external audits. Having passed these rigid assessments with flying colours, Fiji qualified for budget support assistance." John Feakes, June 2021
FLYING KHAIYUM'S FLAG: One wonders if FEAKES has made any effort to read the Auditor-General's REPORTS. Take, one example, where expenditure was misallocated to Lands Reform Program instead to Travel. There was an overstatement of nearly $52,000

MACDONALDS AND WISHBONE CRYING COVID POVERTY: These two businesses didn't hesitate to donate thousands of dollars to FFP. They should donate fast food free to thousands going HUNGRY all over FIJI

13/6/2021

Fijileaks: When will Fijians of all races learn to EAT at home to save money? The pathetic $50 cash assistance from FFP government should not be spent during COVID at FAST FOOD chains, operated by big FFP political donors.
FIJI THE WAY THE WORLD SHOULD NOT BE: John Hopkins University confirms Fiji now leads the world in the number of confirmed cases increasing the most rapidly, now standing over 1,000 cases, introduced into Fiji by Fiji Airways repatriation flight that brought Aiyaz Khaiyum on 10 April from Singapore

MONEY MISSING or STOLEN:
Where is Australia's recent $170million?

McDonalds Managing Director, Marc McElrath says business is down.
“Our sales are significantly down, however at the moment we have to work around the current conditions. We doing everything we can to keep our staff employed, serve as many customers as we can through drive-thru, I am hoping that the situation improves in the future”

And it seems the Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem did not object to the stated name, 'Marc Mcelrath Mcdonal' which FFP listed as a donor. On 12 October 2017 'Mcdonal' donated $10,000 (Receipt No 860). His mother, BEVERLEY FLORENCE, joined the 'FFP Meal Deal', donating $10,000 on 10 October 2018. There is no record of any receipt issued or who at FFP received the donation. On 14 October 2018, PATRICIA MARY FERRIER WATSON donated her $100 to FijiFIRST Party.

Wishbone Director Rabindra Nath shared McElarth's sentiments.
“We do not have any eat-ins, we only have takeaways and most of the products like the drinks are getting bad, out of date so we can’t sell all the drinks and there is no eat-in only takeaways and overall business is really bad.”

On 11 September 2014, Ravindra Nath donated $10,000 to FFP

ELECTRIC BOLT FROM THE BLUE: As FFP government sells 44% EEL shares to Japanese electricity company SEVENS Pacific Pte Ltd (SPPL) why was SPPL registered in Singapore on 4 March 2021 and not in Fiji

13/6/2021

After all, CHINA RAILWAY FIRST GROUP and many other overseas companies have formed and registered their special purpose companies in Fiji.
COINCIDENCE? SEVENS Pacific Pte Ltd was registered on 4 March 2021, on the same day we
saw AIYAZ SAYED KHAIYUM speaking to FBC from Singapore.

4 March 2021: Good Morning, FIJI, from SINGAPORE

Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc. (Chugoku EPCO) will nominate three new board members to the Energy Fiji Limited (EFL) board.

Chugoku EPCO and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (“JBIC”) in March signed a share sale agreement for the acquisition of 44 per cent stake in EFL
.
This was via a special purpose company newly established in Singapore (Sevens Pacific Pte. Ltd.)
Currently there are seven board members of which three will be represented by Sevens Pacific Pte. Ltd.
This new agreement will also strengthen the long-standing friendship Fiji and Japan share.

EFL chief executive officer Hasmukh Patel said he would not make a statement on the matter.

Source: Fiji Sun 27 April 2021

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama today signed an agreement on the sale of 44% shares of Energy Fiji Ltd to Sevens Pacific Pte Limited today.

Sevens is a joint venture company established in Singapore comprising of a partnership between the Japanese company Chugoku Electric Power Company Limited (Chugoku) and the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC).

While speaking during the MOU signing, Bainimarama says the Fijian Government had always aimed to secure a strategic investor in EFL who would align Fiji’s energy sector to international best practices and ensure the long-term development of robust renewable energy programs.

Bainimarama further says government will remain the majority shareholder.

Bainimarama says EFL is already at the forefront in adopting renewable energy sources.

He says in 2018 over 50 per cent of the country’s electricity was generated by EFL utilising renewable sources, and now with Chugoku, EFL will be further strengthening their operations and undertaking projects that will significantly expand their renewable energy sources to communities all over Fiji.

Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the opportunities in Fiji are numerous as Fiji is seen as the hub of the South Pacific.

He says EFL has been run well and with this partnership there are enormous opportunities for EFL to venture into investment opportunities outside of Fiji too.

Chugoku Electric accused of using SLAPP tactics to intimidate protesters

Fisherman Hisao Hashimoto (second from left) and other anti-nuclear protesters sued by Chugoku Electric Power Co. receive bouquets from supporters after settling with the utility on Aug. 30 in the city of Yamaguchi. | KYODO

A settlement between Chugoku Electric and anti-nuclear protesters has raised the ire of activists and legal experts who claim the legal maneuver constitutes what’s known as a SLAPP, or a strategic lawsuit against public participation.

SLAPPs are commonly filed in the United States as a way to intimidate protesters into silence.

In the suit, filed in December 2009, Chugoku Electric Power Co. demanded ¥39 million ($384,000) in compensation, saying four protesters blocked land reclamation work needed to build the Kaminoseki nuclear power plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture by using fishing boats and kayaks to demonstrate in waters at the construction site.

“It was really a very tough and long fight,” one of the four protesters said after the settlement was reached at the Yamaguchi District Court on Aug. 30 — about six years and eight months after the utility sued them.

In the U.S., major companies and public entities often file similar lawsuits called SLAPPs. They are regulated in many U.S. states on the grounds that they could impede freedom of speech. Similar cases have received far less attention in Japan.

The trial ended with the utility agreeing to drop its compensation claim and the protesters promising not to enter the construction site or disturb work-related vessels once reclamation work resumes.

Progress on the contentious plant, proposed in 1982, had been slow amid stiff local opposition. The triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in 2011 dealt it a further blow, leading to the halt in reclamation work.

Lawyers for the protesters call the suit “a typical SLAPP,” explaining that Chugoku Electric failed to fulfill its obligation to prove its claim.

The trial dragged on without the utility making clear exactly when and where the four obstructed the landfill work, their lawyers said.

“The purpose was to prolong (the trial) and make them weary (of protesting further),” the defendants’ representatives said.

Under the settlement reached at the urging of the court, the utility dropped its damages claim and the protesters won’t face any restrictions on their ability to express their opinions. But they are barred from entering the area designated for the plant or from obstructing vessels involved in the project. If they do, they could face fines.

The lawyers still hailed the settlement as an “effective win” because the protesters did not have to pay any compensation and do not face restrictions on future protest activities.

Still, the time spent resolving the case was nearly 10 times longer than an average civil case, which normally takes about eight months to conclude.

The drawn-out legal battle led one of the lawyers to admit, “You could say that Chugoku Electric was able to attain its goal to a certain extent.”

The court time also took a psychological toll on the four protesters — none of whom had ever been sued before. They had no idea how to hire a lawyer, where to find the money to pay for their legal expenses, or anticipate the impact the lawsuit would have on their lives and work.

“The money they sought from us was an impossible amount, no matter how we went about it. I wondered what was going to happen to me?” protester Toshiyasu Shimizu, 61, recalled. He heads a group of anti-nuclear residents on an island several kilometers from the Kaminoseki construction site.

“I was in a better situation (than the others) because I have no kids. I felt terrible to see their family members suffer hardship,” said Hisao Hashimoto, a 64-year-old fisherman and carpenter who was also sued.

After a deal was reached, Chugoku Electric said in a statement that it hopes to build a nuclear plant that will not raise safety concerns in the local community.

“We will also make our utmost efforts to win consent from as many people as possible,” it said. Source: The Japan Times, 9 September 2016

From Fijileaks Archive, 23 February 2015

PAL AND PRASAD APPOINTMENTS: As Nauru president, lawyer, and USP Chancellor Lionel Aingima tells Aiyaz Khaiyum that Ahluwalia's appointment is LEGAL, Prasad's US AMBASSADOR post still in LIMBO

10/6/2021

CONNECTION TO BOMBER?: The US State Department is yet to accept Satyendra Prasad's appointment as Fiji's Ambassador to United States. The application was made in February? Why the long delay? Is it because US authorities are still investigating his alleged role in the 1987 bomb blasts in Fiji. The master bomber AIYAZ KHAIYUM had fled to Australia and Prasad had quietly slipped to CANADA for further studies. In April this year, Prasad presented his credentials as Fiji’s non-resident High Commissioner to Canada to the Acting Governor-General of Canada, Richard Wagner who congratulated Prasad on his appointment and extended his greetings to the President and people of Fiji. He also recognised that Prasad is no stranger to Canada having undertaken his studies there in the 1980s and could use this to his advantage to strengthen ties between the two countries.
Fijileaks: Until recently, our Founding Editor-in-Chief was acting as an intermediary between one of Khaiyum's 1987 bombers and the Fijian investigating authorities so is privy to the whole 1987 bombing saga. Surprisingly, as the authorities began closing their net on Khaiyum, the witness suddenly cut all contact and is no longer co-operating with the authorities to bring Fiji's MOBSTER to justice for the 1987 bombings. According to the investigating authorities, Bainimarama allegedly also intervened to STOP the bombing investigation, so Khaiyum could travel to SINGAPORE for his medical surgery, and now Fiji gripped with Covid

The USP’s Charter, Statutes and Ordinances do not make reference that the VC must be located at the Laucala Campus

MISSING FROM THE LIST: Neither Khaiyum nor Prasad on the LIST

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