Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has played down criticism he is leading an administration that practices nepotism and favouritism.

The Rabuka-led three-party coalition government has been accused of rewarding loyalists with top positions in state-backed institutions and organisations.

There are some Fijians who claim Rabuka’s coalition is walking the same path as the previous FijiFirst government, which was also accused of rewarding party supporters with government jobs and contracts when it was in power from 2014 to 2022.

But Rabuka, while not categorically denying the accusations, said the opinions of detractors did not worry him.

“[My reaction is] that I should not worry about that,” Rabuka told RNZ Pacific at Bau Island following the conclusion of the first meeting of the Great Council of Chiefs.

He said criticism received by his government was healthy and a part of democracy.

“It is a good thing that people speak out [about good governance concerns].”

‘Can they do better?’
“What I can say, or all I can say is ‘can they do better?’” he added, pointing out if his critics were good enough to offer a better alternative.

But the country’s former attorney-general and economy minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has alleged Rabuka’s government has been offering people unfair advantage on the basis of “political allegiance”.

Speaking to local media outside a Suva courthouse on Tuesday, Sayed-Khaiyum said former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama’s FijiFirst-made appointments to government boards and institutions were due to “their capability or the capacity to assist”.

“We have people being appointed on boards not because of what they know, what they can contribute but who they are, who they know, whose political allegiance they have,” he claimed.

“When we [FijiFirst] appointed people to boards it was all about those institutions, those bodies started making revenue, start collecting revenue, start paying dividends to the government.”

He gave the example of Airports Fiji Limited, a government commercial company, paying more than F$40 million in dividends to government which he said was “unprecedented” when it happened before the covid pandemic.

Sayed-Khaiyum claimed Rabuka’s government was rewarding individuals based on the political connections they had rather than on merit.

“So, people are now being appointed to those positions not because of their capability or the capacity to assist but over who they are, which political parties they belong to, what province they come from, what ethnicity they are, who they know, [or] whether they were failed [political] candidates or not.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The University of the South Pacific will be receiving additional funding from the Fiji government in the 2023-2024 national budget, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad.

Speaking at a public consultation in Lautoka this week, he said the additional funding was to pay off arrears owed by the Fijian government to the regional university.

As of February this year, the Fiji government owed USP F$116 million (NZ$86 million) in unpaid grants.

“We gave $10 million already,” the Deputy PM said.

“I attended their council meeting and I made a commitment.

“We are restoring the annual grant to the university which is about $34 million.

“From this year the annual contribution that the Fiji government always used to contribute will be included in the budget and that will be paid.

“We are going to include an additional amount to clear out the arrears from the past years and so the university will have a lot of money.”

Professor Prasad was responding to queries raised by USP staff member Teresa Ali on the government’s commitment to the university’s annual grant.

Deputy VC ‘dismissed’
Meanwhile, Fijivillage News reports that the University of the South Pacific management has confirmed that deputy vice-chancellor and vice-president Professor Janusz Jankowski’s arrangement with the institution has ended.

In response to an email sent by FBC News, USP management said Professor Jankowski was recently engaged as a fixed-term and part-time consultant.

It also said that, contrary to media reports, the vice-chancellor and president of USP did not have the delegated authority to terminate the employment of a deputy vice-chancellor.

News media reports say that a week before the termination of Professor Jankowski’s contract, he had written a damning 13-page “whistleblower” report to two of the university’s pro vice-chancellors alleging “nepotism, lack of transparency and accountability” at the university.

Repeka Nasiko is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

It was the friendliness of Fijians that led educator Hiroshi Taniguchi to give up his Japanese citizenship and make Fiji his home.

The 50-year-old is a National Federation Party (NFP) provisional candidate for the 2022 general election.

He moved to Fiji in 2004 and then established the Freebird Institute in the Western Division in 2014, now one of the biggest language institutes in Fiji.

The institute has educated more than 15,000 students from 29 countries since its establishment.

It is listed in the South Pacific Stock Exchange.

“The first time I came to Fiji was in 2002,” Taniguchi said.

“I hung around with locals, they invited me for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Fiji ‘the place for me’
“During my stay in Fiji, I only spent my money twice to buy food because everywhere I went they invited me to eat with them.

“I had never seen anything like this, and I knew that Fiji was the place for me.

“For 18 years now I’ve been living in Fiji and I have never regretted anything.

“I didn’t feel like I sacrificed my Japanese citizenship because, to be honest, I am enjoying being a Fijian.

“Now I have to apply for a visa if I want to visit my friends or family in Japan.”

Taniguchi said the Japanese government did not allow dual citizenship.

He is originally from Obama City, located close to Japan’s old capital, Kyoto.

He was educated at Tongji University, China, where he studied a major in applied physics.

One of China’s earliest national universities, it is located in Shanghai City and dates back to 1907.

Fluent in Chinese
Taniguchi worked in Hong Kong, Thailand, Europe and Japan before settling in Fiji.

“I am fluent in Chinese because I spent four years studying in China where I studied physics so I’m more of a science man.

“I even have a telescope tent. I love science and I am also businessman.”

If he wins in the general elections, Taniguchi said he would change the education system and work culture.

“The biggest problem in any country is nepotism, I think it is part of the culture in Fiji, and people express their love by giving their relatives or friends opportunities.

“To love each other is a very beautiful thing but when it comes to running a company or civil service, people should be appointed according to merit.

“I really want to change this country with my ideas that uplift the standard of education and civil service and take it to another level.”

He said he chose NFP because he believed that it was the only political party that could work with other parties to uplift the standard of service in Fiji.

“During the general election, I don’t want to sell my face,” he said.

“It is my ideas that I want to tell people.”

Arieta Vakasukawaqa is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A public relations disaster for Fiji just as Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum head to Glasgow for COP26 as one of Britain’s leading media outlets — The Independent — carries out a detailed investigation into events at the University of the South Pacific.

Fiji’s reputation in Britain and the academic community the world over has suffered a grievous blow.

What emerges is a sordid tale of cronyism, bullying, repression and a frontal assault on regional cooperation by the FijiFirst government that has undermined Pacific solidarity and adversely affected the education of ordinary Pacific Islanders at USP, including Fijian young people.

The length and scope of this article and its impeccable pedigree guarantee that it will become the dominant global narrative about events at USP and have a far reaching impact on Fiji’s reputation, including its current role as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum.

And for what? For Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum’s ego.

A festering wound that will cripple the FijiFirst government all the way to the 2022 election, when its prized “youth vote” will get to make its own pronouncement at the ballot box on events at USP.

Be genuinely dismayed at the AG’s shortsightedness and Bainimarama’s stupidity for allowing his number 2 to embark on a battle he simply cannot win.

This is what The Independent describes as a “long read”:

“At first there is a woman’s voice coming from the back of the house in the dead of night. Then there is repeated ringing of the doorbell. Other voices, male ones, are coming through the front door now; the voices are authoritative and increasingly impatient. Instructions are barked, telling those inside to open up. Fists bang the door. Soon plainclothes police officers are inside and shortly afterwards 63-year-old Professor Pal Ahluwalia and his wife Sandy Price are forcibly escorted to the airport. The vice-chancellor of the most prestigious university in Fiji is being deported on the orders of the Fijian government.

“The University of the South Pacific (USP) is pretty. Its main campus building in Fiji has a clean, modern design and is fronted by rows of palm trees. But behind the attractive facade and beneath a clear blue South Pacific sky, all hell is breaking loose. An internecine conflict has broken out. On one side stands the vice-chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, who claims to have blown the whistle on mismanagement and malpractice at the university; opposing him are pro-chancellor Winston Thompson and the Fijian government, who say Ahluwalia is guilty of both breaking USP hiring protocols and of unspecified immigration violations.”

Read on at The Independent or if you want to dodge the paywall, read here.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Samoa’s incoming leader has condemned the actions of the former government and demanded it hand over power.

Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, speaking formally as the country’s elected prime minister, slammed the behaviour of Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi and his Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).

Fiame’s FAST party, which won 26 seats in last month’s election – a majority of one, and the previous ruling party, HRPP, are waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on several contentious issues.

Speaking in a broadcast from FAST headquarters, Fiame said MPs and officials must move from their roles and offices and allow the public service to focus on its work in a business like and orderly way.

She warned the 25 HRPP MPs they must take steps to have themselves sworn in or risk being forced into byelections.

Fiame also said the recent attacks on the judiciary by the caretaker prime minister, Tuila’epa, and some government officials, had severely undermined the rule of law.

She called this “a perversity” and said it would be addressed shortly, “make no mistake”.

‘Severely undermined by corruption, abuse …’
“While all of democracy’s checks and balances and the public officeholders meant to protect us, have been severely undermined by corruption, nepotism and the abuse of power, help is on the way as we move into a time for restoration and revival,” she said.

Fiame, though, praised the previous achievements of Tuila’epa.

She said his legacy was a remarkable one, both nationally and internationally, for which the country is grateful, but it was being undermined by Tuila’epa’s recent actions.

“The more disruptive and disrespectful you become the more that unique legacy is diminished and tarnished, by your own words and your own deeds,” she said.

“Please think of our people and allow our government to take the reins of power from you, peacefully, respectfully and honourably.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

It may have also put the spotlight on our two developed forum members, Australia and New Zealand.

This is not the first time that USP or other regional institutions have had problems with governance, but in most instances, such problems became “water under the bridge” after the quiet exit of those involved—mostly due to political reasons and political connections.

READ MORE: Special reports on the USP leadership crisis

At times, international aid donors and partner countries, without the knowledge or consent of their taxpayers, look the other way when it comes to governance issues.

This attitude could be attributed to political expediency, at least in part. But overlooking bad governance only encourages such behaviour in the future, and what the USP saga shows is that we need a change of attitude.

Unless we demand high standards, and adopt zero tolerance for graft and abuse, we only embolden the perpetrators.

In some instances, not only are the perpetrators allowed to carry on in their positions but are rewarded with other high-ranking jobs as well. Instead of penalising perpetrators, the system rewards them.

Forensic investigation
In this recent USP case, a forensic investigation by an international accounting firm, the BDO New Zealand report, uncovered strong evidence of favouritism and nepotism.

USP Council members ought to be congratulated for taking the matter head on.

The statement by Fiji’s Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Rosy Akbar, affirming the USP Council’s independence is timely given the perception of Fiji’s interference in USP’s operations under the former vice-chancellor.

Earlier, Akbar had stated that Fiji is the largest contributor to USP. But it is well known that Fiji also gains far more from USP then it contributes, both in economic terms and in making it a hub for the region.

Fiji risks losing its status as a good host of regional organisations if it meddles into the affairs of USP.

For all its recent troubles, USP is a shining example of regionalism, with far-reaching benefits for its member countries. For it to be dominated by any one country would be damaging.

Many of our leaders and politicians obtained at least their first qualification at USP. There are many (myself included) for whom their first USP degree opened the doors for further studies abroad.

Ethos of academic freedom
Numerous USP graduates did their master’s degrees and PhDs in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. USP’s ethos of academic freedom and its management structure are modelled on Commonwealth universities.

Due to its democratic ideals, USP is the critical conscience of the region, but this could be lost through government interference.

The USP alumni who greatly value the principles of democracy, good governance, human rights, academic freedom and media freedom agonise about the lackadaisical attitude from some regional countries, including our developed partners, about promoting democracy and the principles of good governance within USP, and more broadly in the region.

Whether this attitude will change with the USP Council’s recent decision, or whether the usual “water under the bridge” attitude will prevail, remains to be seen.

The bottom line is that USP has a crucial role in regional development. This includes producing leaders who can speak out fearlessly, and who can come up with innovative solutions to our problems.

This can be achieved through open discussions and active debate, including criticism, not through silence and passivity due to fear and intimidation. Universities must be allowed to set standards that can be emulated by its students. This includes critical thinking.

Ultimately, the ability of the region to forge ahead in its development endeavours in a united and cooperative manner will depend on how it deals with governance. For many decades, our developed partners have poured in resources in the area of governance, but debate continues about how effective such aid has been.

Meaningful regional integration
For much deeper and meaningful regional integration, regional institutions like USP have to become proactive in upholding the principles of good governance. The ideas of a Pacific community and a Pacific Parliament may be old, but they remain relevant.

Right now, there are no binding legal mechanisms which can provide a collective, coercive force to implement standards of governance across the region. A Pacific Parliament could provide that mechanism, and USP could be at the forefront of discussions about such matters.

The USP Council meeting last week and its outcome has reignited some hope among stakeholders, including students, that our leaders can provide strong and decisive leadership when necessary.

It has also reinforced the crucial role of USP as an independent regional organisation that should be free of political interference.

Dr Biman Prasad is a former professor of economics and dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of the South Pacific. He is an adjunct professor at the James Cook University and Punjabi University, and is currently member of Parliament and leader of the National Federation Party in Fiji. This article was first published on DevPolicy Blog and is republished with the permission of the author.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz