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OUT OF RFMF: Brigadier-General AZIZ MOHAMMED and Captain JOHN FOX, the Chief of Staff, RESIGN from the military, with speculation now mounting that lawyer Aziz Mohammed might be acting Solicitor-General

21/9/2021

PLOTTER? In 2010, he was accused of plotting to overthrow Aiyaz Khaiyum. But a decade earlier, he was accused of stopping Fiji Police from carrying out CWR murder investigations against Frank Bainimarama. Brigadier-General Aziz Mohammed was also behind the demand that FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry be removed as the regime's then Interim Minister of Finance over the tax allegations. Even after Bainimarama had signed Chaudhry's termination letter, Aziz Mohammed refused to budge when Bainimarama had organized a breakfast at his (Bainimarama's) home inviting his Military Council to hear Chaudhry out. The Brigadier-General insisted that Chaudhry must be booted out. After all, in January 2007, he had frogmarched the Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki out of his chambers and a special tribunal inquiry had been announced to investigate Fatiaki over his own tax matters, which Fatiaki had taken advantage of under Chaudhry's Tax Amnesty Decree. Correspondence relating to Chaudhry in our Founding Editor-in-Chief's possession reveal how Chaudhry tried to persuade Bainimarama that our Founding Editor-in-Chief, who had revealed the Interim Finance Minister's secret $2million in Sydney, was attempting to divide the Military Council (for both the Brigadier-General and our Founding Editor-in-Chief were old 'Kai Raiwaqa Boys' ) and to weaken the Interim Government. Even Aiyaz Khaiyum had desptached his then Solicitor-General Christopher Prdye to the Fiji Sun, demanding the publication of a rebuttal letter where our Founding Editor-in-Chief had demanded that Chaudhry's own tax file should be included in the Fatiaki Tribunal. The Brigadier-General Aziz Mohammed broke ranks, demanding that Mahendra Chaudhry MUST be removed or resign from the INTERIM Government. History repeats itself in Fiji, except the
OLD ACTORS now singing new TUNES against their former treasonist colleagues

Brigadier-General Aziz Mohammed

SUITED AND BOOTED OUT - Sharvada Sharma

Captain John Fox

Source: Fijivillage News

Excerpt from a letter by Interim Finance Minister Chaudhry to Bainimarama

24 February, 2008

Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama
Prime Minister& Minister for Public Service
Peoples Charter for Change, Information,
Provincial Development Indigenous
& Multi-Ethnic Affairs
Government Buildings
Suva

Dear Prime Minister

"As we all know in politics, if you throw enough mud often enough some will stick....With this large dead cat dragged over my reputation as Finance Minister, I think it is imperative that you are in a position to establish that this Government remains steadfastly committed to applying high standards of good governance. With the support of my Ministry, I have worked very hard as Finance Minister to try to reverse the extraordinary legacy of financial mismanagement that we inherited from the previous government. I do not now want to see the financial credibility of Fiji eroded through unfair reporting of my private affairs.

In view of the above, please note that FIRCA has today issued a statement which states that the allegations of tax evasion on my part are not established. I would like also to propose that you establish to your satisfaction with the authorities concerned, as to what is the true position.

I wish to also inform you that I am taking legal action against the Fiji Times for defamation. The Fiji Sun and its correspondent Victor Lal are also being sued. A media statement I have issued to this effect is attached for your information.

Yours sincerely

Mahendra Pal Chaudhry
Minister for Finance, National Planning, Sugar Industry
& Public Utilities (Water and Energy)

BROTHER'S KEEPER, NO WAY! Professor Wadan Narsey: 'Not the first time that Bainimarama Government got rid of a Government Statistician. Late Timoci Bainimarama was forced to retire for refusing to take orders'

19/9/2021

US Ambassador Larry Dinger to Washington, February 21, 2007, Wikileaks

"Not the first time that the Bainimarama Government got rid of a Government Statistician. What has happened to the CEO of FBS (Naiqama) is not the first time it has happened, except that the public did not see what happened behind the scenes to another Bainimarama.
Once upon a time, a certain Fiji Government Statistician (the late Mr Timoci Bainimarama) refused after the 2006 coup to allow the Fiji Bureau of Statistics to knuckle under to the Powerful One in the Military Government, who had the ears of the Interim Prime Minister (and goodness knows what else).
When he kept refusing to compromise, the late Timoci Bainimarama was forced to retire although many others with lesser contribution to make to Fiji went well past the retirement age with no such punitive action (some even had the same name).
As is often the case in Fiji when unfair personal tragedy occurs beyond the victim’s control, the former GS took solace in the amber liquid readily available at the “sporting” establishment opposite the Botanical Gardens, from opening time 10am until he had to be taxied home in the evening.
To no one’s surprise, after many months of seeking this sad oblivion, the former Government Statistician found the usual ultimate solace for all humans, grieved by his loving family.
Silver lining for Naiqama’s dark cloud?
The former CEO of FBS must know that there is a big market among regional organizations for good honest statisticians at much higher salaries than offered by political dictators who have bankrupted the economy. Check with his mates at SPC for instance. There are also some professors who will happily write a reference for them."
Professor Wadan Narsey

By PROFESSOR WADAN NARSEY

In my Fiji Times article last week, I commended the FBS for convincing the Government to publish that Report and I commended the Bainimarama Government for releasing the poverty facts to the public, regardless of their political sensitivity. But I was clearly wrong on both counts.

The reputable Australian Bureau of Statistics collects data on ethnicity, such as on Aboriginal peoples or Asians or those Australians born in Fiji, even though all Australians are treated equally under the law. No Government Statistician in Australia ever loses his or her job because the ABS freely publishes such ethnicity data.

The reputable NZ Stats collects all kinds of data on ethnicity, such as Maoris or Samoans or Asians or residents born in Fiji, even though all New Zealanders are treated equally under the law. No Government Statistician in NZ ever loses his or her job because NZ Stats publishes such data.

Last week, the Fiji Bureau of Statistics published a Report on the findings of the 2019-20 Household Income and Expenditure Survey, with some fascinating statistics, which also included poverty and food poverty tables by ethnicity.

The next evening, the most powerful Minister Khaiyum gave a long press conference attacking the Fiji Bureau of Statistics for contradicting the Bainimarama Government’s policy to not collect or publish data by ethnicity and religion.

But much worse, the Minister slammed the statistical integrity of the household survey by the FBS, alleging that the ethnicity statistics were not reliable and they lacked “integrity”.

The Minister ranted and raved that the FBS could not make ethnic generalizations from a mere 3% sample of 6000 households, supposedly representing more than 190 thousand households.

Soon after, the CEO of FBS (Mr Kemueli Naiqama) was escorted out of his office and his employment terminated.

The Fiji public, of all ethnicities and political persuasions, need to register their public protest that an honest civil servant who was trying to do his job with integrity is being sacked for producing accurate official statistics for the benefit of all Fiji.

I won’t repeat here the arguments I have made in my previous articles why it is absolutely essential for development policies that statistics be gathered and publicized by ethnicity given that iTaukei and Indo-Fijians have many different development characteristics with respects to business involvement, fertility, health, aging, education, housing and other important areas.

Just as in Australia, the ABS recognizes that Aboriginals have different development needs from white and Asian Australians, and in NZ, NZ Stats recognizes that Maoris and Pacific Islanders have different development needs from pakehas and Asians.

In this article, I wish to rebut the baseless and scurrilous assertion by the Attorney General that the 2019-20 HIES lacked statistical integrity because it was a “mere” 3% sample, all because he does not agree ideologically with the release of statistics by ethnicity.

I call on the Fiji Public Commission and the Fiji Public Service Association to legally defend the rights of the civil servant concerned against this arbitrary and unjustifiable punitive action by the Bainimarama Government.

More than just a 3% sample?

When I first started working with the FBS household surveys, even I was skeptical whether such as small sample as 3% could give accurate results.

But to my continued amazement, I found that the statistical results were astonishingly accurate not the least because of the rigorous methodology of the statisticians in the Household Survey Unit of the FBS (I also show that in this article).

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has a wonderful webpage titled “Sample Design” which Fiji’s tertiary students and academics should read: just google “ABS Sample Design”. For numbers of households above one hundred thousand, the ABS statisticians recommend that even a sample of 1000 households (1% sample) can be more than enough.

Some might remember that I have been previously critical of the results of opinion polls like the Tebbutt Poll which questioned around “only” 1,000 persons in the Nausori-Suva-Lami-Sigatoka-Nadi-Lautoka-Ba-Rakiraki corridor. But even then, the Tebbutt results were pretty accurate about what Fiji’s voters thought about Bainimarama and his political opponents.

But the FBS selects 6000 households, not just far more than necessary, but rigorously and proportionately selected from all over Fiji.

The representative FBS 3% sample

Students, take the time to read this section (don’t be lazy). The FBS statisticians first obtain a population “frame” of households which covers 100% (YES, ALL) of all Fiji households, usually from their records from the previous Census.

Then, the FBS selects a smaller “List” of households (around a third) whose households contain all the different “strata” or “variables of interest” on which the survey wishes to obtain information: the four divisions (Central, Western, Northern, Eastern); and the urban and rural components within them (7 strata altogether because Eastern is just Rural).

Then from this “List” is proportionately and randomly drawn the smaller 3% sample of 6000 households: wherever in Fiji they happen to fall.

By this time, these 6000 households out of the national 192,000 households, are also representative of the 14 provinces and the major ethnic groups (iTaukei, Indo-Fijians, and Others) and other variables analyzed at length by the Bristol University group.

Such as multi-dimensional analysis of poverty; with respect to heads of households, aspects such as gender, marital status, number of children, etc. Or aspects of the house such as the number of rooms, toilets, access to running water, etc.

The hard slog by FBS staff

There then follows the incredibly hard slog by the FBS trained interviewers who physically go to every selected household wherever they are: in the towns, villages, hills, valleys, by foot, by horse.

They ensure that all the questionnaires are fully explained to the household head and filled at the beginning with critical data about the household: its physical characteristics, its occupants, its annual income and expenditure, etc. and MORE.

For the 2019-20 Household Income and Expenditure Survey, each household then also fills out a 2 week diary of incomes (all types- cash, crops, livestock, fish, gifts, remittances etc.); and all expenditures (cash, “home consumption”, gifts) etc.

These are all checked by the interviewer at the SECOND visit.

Then all 6000 records are collated at FBS HQ, blanks or obvious errors clarified and corrected, and the data entered into computer programs. This data is then “cleaned” and analyzed by the FBS statisticians and for this particular survey by experts from the World Bank and the Bristol University group (and once upon a distant time, by a certain unnamed USP economist).

The AG in his virulent Press Conference diatribe (which a blogger called appropriately a “hissy fit”) gave no hint whatsoever that he understood an iota of the enormous technical effort of the FBS staff in conducting this year long HIES (from February 2019 to February 2020).

Nor did he give a slightest hint that he understood the enormous statistical rigor of this FBS exercise, which he contemptuously labelled as “lacking in statistical integrity”.

The population cross-check

From my personal experience in analyzing at least five household sample surveys by the FBS (the Household Income and Expenditure Surveys of 2002-03 and 2008-09, and the Employment and Unemployment Surveys of 2004-05, 2010-11 and 2015-16) I have always been blown away by the incredible accuracy of the results for the national picture.

Before conducting the detailed analysis by different variables of interest, all analysts first check whether the national aggregates derived from the survey match the national totals from alternative sources.

The first is the total population estimates from the survey, and that from the census and the resulting population projections; and also components such as rural:urban and ethnic components.

In all the surveys whose raw data I have analyzed, the differences have been less than 1% in the total population, or for rural/urban numbers or by ethnicity.

The components from the 2019-2 HIES estimates all match what the demographers have projected for 2019-20 for rural/urban (45% and 55%); iTaukei/Indo-Fijian (62% and 34%); as well as all the other variables such as divisions and provinces, and even the age group divisions (including those of voting age (18+).

The only difference has been that the household survey estimates do not include the non-household “institutional” populations of the army, police, prisons, school and college dormitories, hence will usually be less than the estimates or projections derived from the census estimates.

The independent FNPF cross-check

A totally independent check that I suspect even the FBS is not aware of is the 2015-16 EUS survey estimates of how much should have been paid to the Fiji National Provident Fund for 2015-16 (my estimate from the 2015-16 EUS was an average of $454 million).

On the other hand, the Annual Reports of the FNPF for 2015 and 2016 given an actual average total FNPF contribution received of $456 million, or less than 1% different from the EUS estimates. WOW.

These FBS 3% sample surveys can also give you accurate estimates of how much FNPF is NOT being paid (read my FWRM Report soon to be published, if you are interested).

There are all kinds of similar cross-checks possible from HIES data.

The HIES estimates are accurate

Contrary to the AG’s ideological assertion, the estimates of the incidence of poverty are absolutely accurate, given the WB methodology the FBS has chosen to use for poverty analysis and which the AG allegedly agreed with in February of this year when the national estimate of 29% as the incidence of poverty was released.

The AG did not then raise a single boo or peep about the statistical methodology of the FBS when he spoke at length on how this incidence of poverty could not be compared with previous estimates in 2008-09 or 2002-03 because the criterion had changed from income to consumption expenditure (all agreed).

But the AG in his grand press conference speech pontificated with local knowledge that we should all realize that some households consumed bhindi or bhaji or cassava they grew themselves and these he wisely informed were all included in the consumption criterion but he alleged not in the income criterion (FT 16/9/2021).

Hilariously, this all-knowing lawyer AG demonstrated his abysmal statistical ignorance (not picked up by his chamchas in Fiji Sun and FBC) that even in the “income criterion” previously used by the WB or the FBS or me, there was always a component of income called “home consumption” which comprised precisely what the household grows (vegetables or fruit) or raises (cattle or poultry) or catches (fish and marine foods) for its own consumption, in addition to what they buy using cash. The lowliest person in the Household Unit of the Fiji Bureau of Statistics could have enlightened the AG Khaiyum of this basic national income fact (which always includes “subsistence income”) (if they could stop laughing).

BUT suddenly in September 2021, the AG wakes up to the FBS’s “lack of statistical integrity” when exactly the same HIES data (which gave the national estimates he approved in February 2021) are used to provide estimates of poverty by ethnicity (useful for policy in my opinion) and religion (useless in my personal opinion).
Remember Abraham Lincoln?

I wonder what the real economist Ministers in the Bainimarama Government, like Dr Mahendra Reddy and Jone Usamate, are thinking about the AGs latest diversion from national discussions about the horrible impact of the COVID pandemic.

But they probably are chuckling inside, thinking about what Abraham Lincoln is thought to have said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt that you are a fool”.

Footnote: Not the first time that the Bainimarama Government got rid of a Government Statistician

What has happened to the CEO of FBS (Naiqama)is not the first time it has happened, except that the public did not see what happened behind the scenes to another Bainimarama.

Once upon a time, a certain Fiji Government Statistician (the late Mr Timoci Bainimarama) refused after the 2006 coup to allow the Fiji Bureau of Statistics to knuckle under to the Powerful One in the Military Government, who had the ears of the Interim Prime Minister (and goodness knows what else).

When he kept refusing to compromise, the late Timoci Bainimarama was forced to retire although many others with lesser contribution to make to Fiji went well past the retirement age with no such punitive action (some even had the same name).

As is often the case in Fiji when unfair personal tragedy occurs beyond the victim’s control, the former GS took solace in the amber liquid readily available at the “sporting” establishment opposite the Botanical Gardens, from opening time 10 am until he had to be taxied home in the evening.

To no one’s surprise, after many months of seeking this sad oblivion, the former Government Statistician found the usual ultimate solace for all humans, grieved by his loving family.

Silver lining for Naiqama’s dark cloud?

The former CEO of FBS must know that there is a big market among regional organizations for good honest statisticians at much higher salaries than offered by political dictators who have bankrupted the economy. Check with his mates at SPC for instance. There are also some professors who will happily write a reference for them.

POVERTY IS WRITTEN INTO THEIR LIVES: It doesn't discriminate the RACES in Fiji. Fawlty Tower politicians, corporate lawyers, academics can shout from the roof top but have they set up charities to help POOR

19/9/2021

We say, give the money to a DESIGNATED CHARITY, and so should FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry, who was hiding $2million in a Sydney bank account while crying out for support after the 2000 Speight Coup. Coupist Sitiveni Rabuka sold his 2,000 acre Valavala Estate to an Australian Chinese businessman instead of giving it away to landless Indo-Fijians who were evicted from their lands on the expiry of their land leases. As Aiyaz Khaiyum has pointed out in Parliament, NIKO NAWAIKULA was allegeding behind the evictions while at the NLTB. It would be very interesting to compare the earnings of this bogus and dangerous ethno-nationalist with that of his Indo-Fijian counterpart lawyer. We don't mean earnings of RICHARD NAIDU of Munro Leys.
FORGET the bloody Fiji Bureau of Statistics: Tell us why i-Taukei in Poverty. Is it their CHIEFS, CULTURE, TRADITION and CHRISTIANITY keeping them in POVERTY? Have you heard of Oga and Lega culture?
The video below brings out the squalor of POVERTY among all races:

POVERTY, WHAT POVERTY: Who says i-Taukei Fijians can't afford Meals!

THE FAWLTY POLITICAL CHAMELEONS: Unity Fiji's NARUBE wants the Opposition to UNITE and remove FFP, and for RABUKA to replace FFP. Wake UP, for it was Rabuka who started it all, as Draunidalo reminds us

18/9/2021

Fijileaks: If Narube and other political party leaders don't have the confidence or the numbers to unseat FFP in their own right, these FAWLTY POLITICAL CLOWNS should wind up their parties and disapper before the next general election. Coalitions are recipe for DISASTER. Their only commonality is their hatred for AIYAZ Khaiyum. When will NARUBE tell us of Rabuka's role in the collapsed National Bank of Fiji?
On the other hand, many are coalescing around Sitiveni Rabuka for their own selfish gains. We won't be surprised if Ratu Epenisa Cakobau will DEFECT to the Rabuka Camp, and try to unseat FFP, so he can be appointed the Vunivalu of Bau

From Fijileaks Archive, 1 July 2016:

“The recent sacking of the Government Statistician begs the burning question of how much more can the people of Fiji endure,” says Savenaca Narube, the Leader of Unity Fiji and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji. Mr. Narube adds, “The Fiji First Government does not hesitate to hurt people in its attempt to hide the truth. The recent dismissal of the Government Statistician because he exposed the truth on poverty is not an isolated incidence. It is one of many cases of intimidation and fear.”

“The midnight arrest and deportation of the Vice Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific (USP) and the continuing withholding of $60 million grants to the education of our youth is clearly an attempt to hide the truth of gross mismanagement at the University,” says the Leader of Unity Fiji.

The former Governor stresses, “The continuous resignations of senior civil servants and the CEOs of public companies reflect their significant dismay of their treatment by this Government. The latest is the resignation of the Acting CEO of Fiji Inland Revenue and Custom Services which is the third resignations in two years.” In addition, Mr. Narube said that the intimidation of the Leaders of Opposition Parties because they called for consultations on Bill 17 was another example.

“When will these end?” ask the Leader of Unity Fiji. “The Government has clearly shown its disregard for the people’s views. They are not interested in finding the truth. They are covering up rather than cleaning out.” Mr. Narube states, “The Government does not care if it is unfair. The people named in the independent USP report by an international accounting firm are walking around free while the Government goes after the one that revealed the rot. The Government failed to act on the gross insubordination by the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) which the High Court has upheld. Instead, the Government, through its majority in the Constitutional Officers Commission, extended the SOE’s contract for another 5 years. Where is the fairness in all these?”

Mr. Narube concludes, “How long can the people endure this type of intimidation by a government? I firmly believe that we must collectively and clearly tell this government that enough is enough. I urge the Opposition Parties to unite before the 2022 elections to remove the Fiji First Party from government and restore fairness, inclusivity, security, unity, and peace to our beloved nation.”

Fijileaks: We will soon publish the FRCA Report on People's Alliance party national treasurer JOSEVA LEANO and his sacking for tax fraud

BUCK STOPS WITH THE "GRINNING PARROT" FRANK BAINIMARAMA. Mick Beddoes, 'I am probably going to be the only person in the country to suggest it is pointless pointing the finger at the AG - AIYAZ KHAIYUM'

17/9/2021

"The man in charge, the PM has remained silent for the most part and has, as far as I am concerned, abdicated his responsibilities as Prime Minister. But regardless, it is he who we must hold accountable for everything because the buck stops at the top." - Mick Beddoes

GRAHAM DAVIS ON "GRINNING PARROT":
'The Grinning Parrot [Bainimarama] goes to the podium to dutifully read out the speech written for him by Qorvis and the AG announcing the lifting of internal borders on Viti Levu. 544 Fijians have died from Covid - twelve times the number killed by Cyclone Winston - and there are still almost 13,000 active cases. Any other leader might have expressed sorrow for the agony and heartbreak suffered by so many families. Even a simple expression of sympathy. Plus a word of gratitude and encouragement on behalf of the nation to the army of front line health workers who've risk their lives for their fellow Fijians. But not the Grinning Parrot...He certainly doesn't understand that being able to read someone else's words off an autocue every now and then isn't leadership. He long ago abrogated that to the increasingly crazed ventriloquist [Khaiyum] who pulls the dummy's strings and is the real power in Fiji.'

'Make every vote count and toss them out'

I am probably going to be the only person in the country to suggest that it is pointless pointing the finger at the AG and Minister for the Economy for all the dreadful actions he has taken thus far on behalf of the Fiji First government, including the imposition of the 17 anti indigenous Fijian decrees with the full support of the PM and indigenous Ministers in the Fiji First Cabinet.

For sure he bears much of the responsibility for these outrageous, unethical, dictatorial actions and we have every right to be incensed and outraged.

But let us be honest about how flawed this journey back to democracy really is, with our current model of an elected government, including most of Bainimarama's key co-conspirators in his 2006 act of treason, pretty much in charge of the country and none of them have to account in a court of law for their capital crimes in 2006 because they are all protected by Chapter 10 Immunity provisions.

Unlike citizens today who break curfew or forget to wear a mask, or political leaders who exercise free speech, all get hauled into a cell for 24 hours in some instances then released or are made to appear in court.

We must not ignore the fact that this government is also being propped up by scores of selfish aiders and abettors, silently enjoying the excessive financial benefits that come with it, at the expense of our people especially the 258,000 struggling with poverty today.

The man in charge, the PM has remained silent for the most part and has, as far as I am concerned, abdicated his responsibilities as Prime Minister. But regardless, it is he who we must hold accountable for everything because the buck stops at the top.

The underlying message that these decisions that the government is conveying should be clear to all. The Fiji First foundation of lies, deception, greed, nepotism, corruption, favoritism, self enrichment is finally cracking and total collapse is near.

But we should not doubt for one second their determination to stay, because they just have too much to lose, so we must expect them to pull every trick in the book to stay.

So the question we must ask ourselves is this. How badly do we want change in 2022 and how much effort are we all willing to collectively put into making this change happen?

Let us not forget, that the only limitation to achieving the success we seek in 2022 is the one we place on ourselves.

So lets 'Make every vote count and toss them out

The Grinning Parrot goes to the podium to dutifully read out the speech written for him by Qorvis and the AG announcing the lifting of internal borders on Viti Levu. 544 Fijians have died from Covid - twelve times the number killed by Cyclone Winston - and there are still almost 13,000 active cases.

Any other leader might have expressed sorrow for the agony and heartbreak suffered by so many families. Even a simple expression of sympathy. Plus a word of gratitude and encouragement on behalf of the nation to the army of front line health workers who've risk their lives for their fellow Fijians. But not the Grinning Parrot.

With his government showing the same signs of disintegration as the economy, good old Frank puts on a fresh bula shirt and fronts the cameras as if nothing has happened, a cheery smile in the face of a catastrophe for which he bears a great deal of responsibility. He has never had much self awareness. He certainly doesn't understand that being able to read someone else's words off an autocue every now and then isn't leadership. He long ago abrogated that to the increasingly crazed ventriloquist who pulls the dummy's strings and is the real power in Fiji.

Frank Bainimarama ends the week having lost his Permanent Secretary for Agriculture - who was lured from the private sector to spearhead the revival of the most vital industry after tourism - the acting head of the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority - his chief revenue raiser - and most damaging of all for the government's fortunes because of the manner in which it was done, the CEO of the Fiji Bureau of Statistics.

We now know that Kemueli Naiqama did absolutely nothing wrong. Nothing. Far from being "questionable" or "unreliable" - as the AG claimed - his household income survey was conducted to internationally accepted standards, with the assistance of the World Bank and the University of Bristol in the UK. It is also routine practice the world over for official statisticians to factor ethnicity and religion into such surveys. But not in Fiji. Naiqama was summarily dismissed and frogmarched from his office by a squad of goons the day after Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum went on prime time national television to trash his reputation. The whole country knows a terrible injustice has been done and that Naiqama's only crime has been to reflect the truth.

Frank Bainimarama's freshly-shaved face, clean shirt and grin can't hide the fact that this has been a terrible week for his leadership. Even his strongest supporters can see that the ground has shifted under him. First with Mere Vuniwaqa and now with Kemueli Naiqama, he has allowed the AG to get rid of two members of the educated iTaukei elite who are widely respected and whose many supporters have been left aghast. The AG has also come under withering attack not from the usual suspects but from Shamima Ali - an equally respected Indo-Fijian and fellow Muslim - whose call for the Prime Minister to sack Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has been greeted with almost universal acclaim.

So no amount of spin can alter the fact that the government is bruised and battered and on the ropes. It cannot rely on the economy to rebound and save it. No-one knows whether even if the borders are open, the visitors will come. Or at least come in numbers significant enough to start getting Fiji - the beggar nation living off credit - back on its feet. No-one knows whether even if the government's vaccination target is reached, Covid can be contained. And we already know that there are possibly even more dangerous mutations of the virus lurking behind the Delta variant.

The least the Prime Minister could have done last night was to throw away the Qorvis/AG script and speak from the heart to a people crying out for empathy from a government that doesn't seem to care about anything other than getting its own way. Alas. He once again failed the test.

The best that can be said is that the PM looks a lot better physically than the AG, whose haggard appearance on television the previous night was startling. But that too is to be expected. Because these days Frank does little other than front up to show the nation, yet again, how well he can read. Everyone knows it's the AG who really does the heavy lifting. Except that it's become the heavy dragging. Down, down, down in the direction of electoral defeat and political oblivion.

Speaking to Fijivillage, Speaker Ratu Epeli Nailatikau says the Parliamentary Standing Orders are very clear and you cannot get your own way because the Standing Orders do not allow it. He says parties can get around the Standing Orders but they have to negotiate, not with him, but with the other side of the House. Ratu Epeli says that is how it is done in any other Parliament.

NFP General Secretary Seni Nabou says Parliamentary democracy has been reduced to a façade

The National Federation Party believes parliamentary democracy has been reduced to a façade by the actions of the Speaker, the Secretariat and the Tables Office of Parliament.

The Party will write to the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), of which Fiji is a member, to alert IPU of the shenanigans of the Speaker and his team, in trying to protect the Fiji First Government by stifling debate, truth, and facts on issues of national interest that impact lives and livelihood of people.

The rejection of their party Motions and Questions submitted to the Secretariat and Tables Office proves that parliament under the authority and leadership of the Speaker, is doing the bidding for the Fiji First Government by preventing debate on the floor of parliament on important issues.

This is no longer a people’s parliament. The people of Fiji no longer have access to parliament to air their concerns through their elected representatives.

If NFP tries to raise matters on the people's behalf, the Speaker, Secretariat and Tables Office scuttle it, before it even reaches the Business Committee for discussion”

When questions and motions are put before the Business Committee for approval, the Speaker disallows them on the strength of Government's refusal alone during the meeting, even if he has approved it for the Business Committee to discuss, during the so-called vetting process.

It happened yet again today when a Motion by Leader was rejected by the Business Committee because Fiji First opposed it. At least two questions were also ruled out simply because Fiji First opposed them.

So basically what this means is that when Government opposes anything brought for debate by the Opposition, the matter is not put on the floor of parliament for debate.

However, when Government wants something to be tabled in Parliament, it will be allowed.

It renders meaningless Standing Order 125(2) where the Speaker must be satisfied that any determination of the Business Committee fair to all parties and does not discriminate against or oppress a minority party or minority parties.

The next sitting of parliament is from Monday 20th September to Friday 24th September. This is the last sitting of parliament for the calendar year, before parliament is prorogued and a new calendar year of sittings begin in November.

Next week was the last opportunity this year, for the peoples voices of concern to be amplified in the House through their representatives. It was also the last opportunity this year, for the Party to follow up on Government responses to questions raised in earlier sittings, in accordance with the Standing Orders..

The next parliamentary sitting scheduled for November will be devoid of any parliamentary business by the Opposition parties, because it will mainly focus on responses to the President’s speech where he or she opens the new year of sittings, and Government business only.

Two Motions were scuttled by the Secretariat and Tables Office upon the decision of the Speaker during vetting.

They were on the establishment of special standing committees to firstly inquire into mismanagement, wastage and pilferage of taxpayers’ funds as highlighted by Reports of the Auditor-General until 2019, and secondly, inquire into the operations and management of municipal councils as well as effectiveness of service delivery to ratepayers.

In these proposed motions by NFP, both special committees were to report back to parliament, by February 2022.

However those tasked with vetting the agenda, together with the Speaker determined that the Public Accounts Committee was the right Committee to carry out these inquiries, when its true function is toothless, after the Government side railroaded highly restrictive changes to the Standing Orders, in February 2016.

Then there are two examples of Questions that were, in our considered opinion, erroneously ruled out of order.
One sought information from the Local Government Minister as to why women are being asked to sell seafood outside the public conveniences at Nausori market. A perfectly legitimate concern that this was conveyed by vendors to NFP MP and Vice President, Hon Lenora Qereqeretabua”.

The NFP President and MP Hon Pio Tikoduadua also sought to ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Sugar, whether or not investigations into the conduct of a former Fiji Sugar Corporation Executive Chairman/CEO had been completed, following the PM’s answer in February 2019 that investigations were on-going.

Both were rejected with the Speaker ruling that these breached Standing Orders. If this is not doing bidding for the Fiji First Government, then what is?

The Speaker and his team’s rulings, decisions and actions have rendered Fiji's parliament to Mickey Mouse status. It is basically acting like a comical kangaroo court, instead of exemplifying its proper role as the highest and most important court in the Land where Government is questioned and held accountable, by the people, through their elected representatives.

It is a beyond farcical that 15 September, International Democracy day was lauded on the Parliament Facebook page, but the basic tenets of ensuring democratic debate in parliament, are willfully ignored.

By now, all voters are ready to grant consent only to those who can ensure that this parliamentary facade becomes a thing of the past.

CHRISTIANS most POVERTY-Stricken in Fiji, says HIES REPORT. Thank God, Hindus and Muslims refused to convert to Rabuka's wishes. He saw them as PAGANS in 1987 who must convert to HIS brand of Christianity

17/9/2021

Fijileaks: The HIES Report doesn't explain why Christians are poor in Fiji

"Hindus and Muslims are pagans who need to be converted to Christianity, if not we will all become pagans like them."
SITIVENI RABUKA, shortly after his Racist 1987 Coup. Thankfully,
Indo-Fijian Hindus and Muslims refused to succumb to his demands, for otherwise they would have joined the ranks of Christians in 'Poverty'. After the 1987 COUPS, he had hoped that the Indo-Fijians will migrate in their thousands so that i-Taukei could become majority in Fiji. Now, they are, as recorded by the latest Bureau of Statistics figures

The richest bloody 'Methodist Christian' who enriched himself after Coup

RICH CHRISTIANS in town who ESCAPED ATTENTION of HIES REPORT

THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI

DECREE NO. 20

SUNDAY OBSERVANCE DECREE, 1987 (NO. 20)

IN exercise of the powers vested in me as Commander and Head of the Fiji Military Government, I hereby make the following Decree:

1. This Decree may be cited as the Sunday Observance Decree, 1987.

2.-(1) Sunday shall be observed in the Republic of Fiji as a sacred day and a day of worship and thanksgiving to Christ the Lord and such observation shall be without prejudice to section 3(2) and section 10 of the Fundamental Freedoms Decree.

(2) For the purpose of this Decree Sunday commences at midnight on the preceding Saturday and ends at midnight on Sunday.

3. All persons irrespective of whether or not they profess the Christian faith shall respect Sunday and shall subject to section (4) of this Decree neither do nor omit to do any act that may undermine the significance of Sunday to the Christians in the Republic of Fiji.

8. This Decree shall come into force on 29th October 1987.

Dated this 11th day of November 1987.

COLONEL SITIVENI LIGAMAMADA RABUKA O.B.E (Mil.)
Commander and Head of the Fiji Military Government

PONGA PhD 'DR' HASMUKH LAL who was sacked from USP for alleged PLAGIARISM appointed Executive Director of Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service for 3 months. He had plagiarised niece's research for PhD

16/9/2021

Was there any police clearance sought by the Ministry of Education before HASMUKH LAL (at a Topper meeting last year in photo below with Aiyaz Khaiyum) was offered the job, so that they would have the benefit of a background check on him? Appointing an alleged plagiarist to that Board to select and award scholarships is like placing
DRACULA to guard the BLOOD BANK

SACK HIM or HE MUST RESIGN:
HASMUKH LAL had assigned his niece at USP, PRIYA DEVI, to conduct research on a specific topic without informing the poor girl his true intention. Suddenly, he sent her on leave, and sent her work as his to the online Atlantic University to obtain his PhD. On her return to USP, Devi discovered the treachery, reported the matter to USP authorities who carried out an investigation and concluded that he had plagiarised Devi's research, and obtained the PhD based on research which was USP Document. He was SACKED from the University of the South Pacific. Why is the Opposition (especially NFP leader BIMAN PRASAD) quite as a church mouse on HASMUKH LAL? For, there is no political mileage to be gained unlike the sacking of Fiji Bureau of Statistics chief Naiqama?
PRASAD was very quick on his feet to defend is wife in Parliament

BOARD chairman Rishi RAM

Fijileaks Archive, 12 February 2021

From Fijileaks Archive, 6 October 2020:

From Fijileaks Archive, 24 September 2020:

FOOD FOR PASIFIKA ONLY: Maori, European and Indian families asking for food parcels turned away because of ETHNICITY. The FONO, a $20m NZ Government funded outfit, says the groups are not Pacific Islanders

15/9/2021

RACISM IN COVID-19 LOCKDOWN FOOD DISTRIBUTION

“It is incredible that someone’s race is being used as a criteria for getting emergency food and support. How can you say to a parent who needs food for their hungry children because they are Maori or Pakeha or European [and a family of Indian ethnicity], they cannot get a food parcel. There should be NO ethnic based policies when it comes to welfare and social services.
All humans should be treated equally with dignity."
Rachael Mario, a Community Volunteer, Auckland, New Zealand

Rachael Mario

Racism in COVID-19 Lockdown Food Distribution

People requesting food parcels are being turned away because of their ethnicity.

THE FONO, a $20 million dollar plus Government-funded organisation, is telling Maori, European and Indian families that they cannot get food parcels because they are not Pacific Islanders.

The tax payer subsidised THE FONO, is tasked with providing free food to help vulnerable people during lockdowns.

Rachael Mario, a Community Volunteer, who has been helping deliver thousands of meals and food parcels over the last few weeks, was disappointed with The Fono’s stance.

She said “It is incredible that someone’s race is being used as a criteria for getting emergency food and support. How can you say to a parent who needs food for their hungry children: because they are Maori or Pakeha or European, they cannot get a food parcel”.

"There should be NO ethnic based policies when it comes to welfare and social services. All humans should be treated equally with dignity."

“The Fono’s motto is “caring is our culture”, yet it appears the caring is only for certain people. This is totally opposite to the Pacific Way and Pasifika culture. We care and help everyone, regardless of race or faith”.

“The Government is asking us all to be kind. What’s the point of “kindness” when there is no compassion and empathy? Where is “kindness” when there is discrimination and racism when it comes to getting food for the vulnerable?”

Mario added, “This is what happens when Government gets the wrong people to deliver services to our communities”.

“It’s the same old story - the privileged get the money, but they do not help the really vulnerable. It is no wonder that the inequities in our nation continue to get worse”.

“it is quite clear The Fono has no real connection to the grassroots. And no real understanding of humanity and social cohesion”.

“This is so devast[a]ting for the already vulnerable - not only do they have to deal with the effects of this long hard lockdown, but also combat this sort of narcissistic discrimination”.

Cherie, who is a New Zealand-born Maori, called last week requesting food. She was asked if she was Maori. And then was told that the Fono does not give food to non-Pasifika people. Cherie was flabbergasted and said “it is unbelievable, in my own country, and as tangata whenua, I am being denied food because of my race”.

Brendon, a New Zealand-born European called The Fono today and they asked him what his nationality was, and then whether he was a Pacific Islander. When he said he was a European Kiwi, he was told the food parcels were not for non-Pasifika people.

Rachael Mario received hundreds of requests from families affected by the current lockdown restrictions. These were ordinary families, from all ethnic backgrounds.

She initially contacted the Ministry of Pacific Peoples to see if they could help people with food support. The Ministry gave her The Fono phone number to get help.

She called and checked with The Fono, and was told they could help. So she started giving people The Fono phone number to contact. But she started getting messages back from some people, that The Fono was not able to help them because of their ethnicity.

Mario then called The Fono on behalf of a family of Indian ethnicity, and after being questioned on that families nationality and ethnicity, was told they could not get the food parcel. The Fono told her the food was only for Pasifika people.

Mario said “It is very very sad. The end result is, some of those families that really need food, are not getting it”.

“And what’s even worse is that already vulnerable people are being subjected to racism, when all they are trying to do is get help for their families.”

“People have food insecurities for many reasons. Some are afraid to go out and shop. Others have lost incomes or are on reduced wages”.

“Where is the love and compassion?”

For more information, contact Rachael Mario 021-2559956 / rachaelmario@hotmail.com