Nauru president Lionel Aingimea has accused Fiji of being “divisive” over its refusal to pay its share of funding for the 12-nation regional University of the South Pacific, saying the institution needs every member country to pay their contribution.

Aingimea said all Pacific island country members of USP were present and voted overwhelmingly to support the offer of a new employment contract to vice-chancellor and president Professor Pal Ahluwalia.

Professor Ahluwalia is now based at the USP campus in Samoa after Fiji unilaterally deported him and his wife Sandra in early February.

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Aingimea, delivering a ministerial statement in Nauru’s Parliament this week, said there was ongoing contention about Fiji withholding its grant agreement due to the USP council decision to renew Professor Ahluwalia’s contract in spite of opposition by Fiji.

He said Fiji’s Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, had expressed disapproval of the decision of the council

“This disapproval was voiced in the Fiji Parliament sitting of 19 August 2021.

“Honourable Speaker, USP as a regional university does not belong to any one country.

Responsibilities of members
“Responsibilities of the institution are borne by its members.

“Needless to say, there were a lot of statements that were issued by many bodies and people who went against what Fiji’s A-G stated in Parliament.

“In summary of the USP’s council actions, I state that in a democratic environment, where respect and honour is paramount, the USP Council and employer of the vice-chancellor discussed and voted for his re-instatement.”

President Aingimea, former chancellor of USP, said the re-appointment of Prof Ahluwalia was supported by officeholders, staff and student unions.

In August’s Parliament sitting, reported in The Fiji Times, Sayed-Khaiyum said Fiji did not accept Professor Ahluwalia as the vice-chancellor of USP and that it would not provide any funding or assistance to USP as long as he remained in this position.

BDO report tabled in Nauru Parliament
The Fiji Times reported on Saturday that Fijian academics in the former USP administration had been implicated in a 2019 report into mismanagement and corruption at the regional university that was tabled by President Aingimea in Nauru’s Parliament this week.

Known as the BDO report, Aingimea said it showed serious breaches of university processes and procedures resulting in the loss of millions of dollars of member government and donor funding.

Aingimea said the report showed clear violation of university rules, unethical conduct and gross financial mismanagement by the previous university administration.

He said one particular academic was mentioned more than 100 times in the report.

She was investigated after being awarded a five-year contract, three cash bonuses and one-step increment that was not aligned with the university’s recruitment standards.

Aingimea said the report was then used to review the university’s procedures and implement reforms so mismanagement, corruption, fraud and financial irregularities were not repeated.

Moving forward, Aingimea urged USP to develop strategies to ensure it remained financially sustainable.

Most trying times at USP
Aingimea said that during his year-long tenure as chancellor ending in June 2021, he was faced with the most trying times in the history of the regional university.

“Our unity as a region was being severely tested.

“My tenure was marked by having to deal with challenges including the covid-19 pandemic on USP, a severe funding crisis, and the deportation of the vice-chancellor and president (VCP).”

Questions on Aingimea’s comments sent to Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama had received no response.

Contacted on Friday, Professor Pal Ahluwalia said he was in a meeting and that he would respond.

USP Staff Association president Dr Elizabeth Fong said the association had called for action to be taken on the report’s findings.

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

President Lionel Aingimea of Nauru has praised the University of the South Pacific for becoming ranked among the world’s top 10 percent of universities by The Times Higher Education rankings (THE).

This is the first time that the university has achieved this recognition in its 53-year history.

President Aingimea, who is outgoing chancellor and a law graduate and former teacher at the regional university, said it was a “remarkable achievement” and a “resounding endorsement of regionalism” in the Pacific.

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The ranking comes at a critical time for vice-chancellor and president Professor Pal Ahluwalia who has faced bitter opposition by the Fiji government for more than two years in what commentators regard as a “political vendetta”.

Professor Ahluwalia was deported by Fiji in February but had his contract renewed by the USP Council with him being based at a USP campus in Apia, Samoa, instead of Suva.

The THE ranking is seen as a vindication of his efforts to strengthen the university.

The 2022 rankings, released in the UK, look at five criteria: teaching, research, international outlook, citations and industry income.

President Aingimea said in a statement today Nauru had “been a proud founding member” of the university.

‘Longstanding commitment’
“At the time of USP’s establishment in 1968, Nauru stood tall recognising the importance and value of a regional university,” he said.

“Since that time, many Nauruans have, and continue to attend USP. Today, that long-standing commitment as one of the owners of USP has been rewarded in an unprecedented manner.

“USP has for the first time in its 53-year history been ranked by one the most prestigious ranking organisations of the world, The Times Higher Education Rankings (THE).

“USP has entered global rankings to now be part of an elite group that sees it ranked among the top 10 percent of universities in the world. This is truly a remarkable achievement when we take into account our developing regional context.

“Today is a day when the 12 member countries that own the USP can rejoice and see the resources and efforts that they have invested in this great Pacific institution being justly rewarded.

“This ranking is a resounding endorsement of regionalism.

“I have a deep personal association with USP, as a student witnessing first-hand the power of forging life-long relationships with colleagues from across the Pacific.

‘Part of the team’
“I have been a member of staff at USP, as a lecturer in law, and have been part of the team dedicated to delivering a quality education to our students.

“Finally, as president it was a privilege to serve as chancellor of USP. My term as chancellor was marked by the work we had to do to provide USP with the good governance it well and truly deserves.

“As an alumnus of USP, I stand tall with all the staff, students and alumni who have contributed to the success of USP through this ranking.

“It gives me enormous pleasure to congratulate Professor Pal Ahluwalia who has championed USP’s entry into the THE rankings along with his senior management team.

“This ranking speaks volumes about the high calibre of research and academic output that USP has produced. I express my deep gratitude to everyone for their commitment to achieve this recognition.

“Over the last two years, our staff and students have sacrificed a lot, and to each and every one of you, on this wonderful occasion, I once again offer my heartiest congratulations.”

In a USP profile, Professor Ahluwalia said the university had achieved recognition in two particular categories with the THE rankings — “international outlook” (top 400) and “industry income” (top 500).

Nauru President Lionel Aingimea has rejected a Fiji minister’s claim that the decision of the University of the South Pacific to reappoint its vice-chancellor and base him in Apia, Samoa, instead of Suva is illegal.

“I don’t see how it can be illegal,” said President Aingimea, who is also the university’s chancellor, in defending the decision to relocate Professor Pal Ahluwalia to Samoa after he was deported by the Fiji government in February in widely condemned circumstances.

“I am also a lawyer and I’ve also read the USP charter and statutes and the [USP] Council has the authority in making appointments.

• READ MORE: USP staff and students hit back at Sayed-Khaiyum’s ‘illegal’ claim

“There’s nothing in the statutes or the charter to suggest we have broken any rule by reappointing the vice-chancellor or issu[ing] him with a new contract.

“There is nothing illegal about it; council offered him a new contract and it can, as the employer.”

As chancellor of the 12-nation regional university, Aingimea said in statement issued by the Nauru government that the council had acted within the guidelines of the USP charter and statutes in response to a claim by Fiji’s Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum last week that USP had acted illegally.

On Tuesday, the university’s two staff unions and the students’ association also issued a joint declaration that USP had acted legally.

Offer of new contract
A sub-committee chaired by President Aingimea presented six recommendations to the USP Council which convened a special meeting on May 25 and June 2 and agreed to offer a new contract to Professor Ahluwalia as vice-chancellor and president (VCP) of the USP.

Students and staff were pleased with the recommendations and the outcome of the council deliberations in re-appointing the VC, said Aingimea.

“The council stands for what’s right and that’s what the students and staff want.”

President Aingimea agreed that it was Fiji’s decision when it came to terminating work visas. However, he added that the issue of contract termination lay with the council as the vice-chancellor’s employer.

“We [USP Council] looked at the USP statutes and charter and we have not broken any rule in offering a new contract to the VC.”

Since the sub-committee was established, President Aingimea said he had received a lot of correspondence from staff, students and the Fiji media inquiring about the status of the VC.

As chairman of the sub-committee, President Aingimea respected the process and considered it inappropriate to respond to those enquiries — until now, saying that any communication and developments arising from the sub-committee must first be reported to council.

Contract renewal precedence
He said there was precedence when former VC Professor Rajesh Chandra’s contract was renewed by the council without advertising the position.

President Aingimea also defended Samoa as an established USP hub — as Emalus campus in Vanuatu was. Relocating the VC to Samoa would not be a disadvantage in terms of the VC carrying out his work.

As a former lecturer at USP, said President Aingimea, the reports and issues facing the university were not new. He described them as “longstanding issues”.

“So maybe it’s about time the region spoke out,” Aingimea said.

“This is a regional university. It doesn’t belong to any one country.”

Fiji has the highest number of students attending USP and is thus the highest contributor to university grants with an annual contribution of $34.4 million.

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.

Fiji not paid up
In reality, however, said the Nauru government statement, the Fiji government had 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.

President Aingimea said all member countries of the USP had the right to an equal voice in the decisions and operations of the USP.

“USP belongs to all of us, not just one country.”

Never again should a University of the South Pacific staff member be treated in the manner vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia was in being deported from Fiji, says the USP chancellor.

Chancellor Lionel Rouwen Aingimea, who is also the President of Nauru, hinted at the possibility of Professor Ahluwalia “continuing in his role from one of the university’s other member countries”.

Aingimea said the university’s expatriate staff needed to be assured that they had security of tenure – and allowing staff to operate across member countries would support their job security and enhance the academic reputation of the university.

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He said he had been entrusted by the USP Council to chair a subcommittee that would look into Professor Ahluwalia’s contract and a recommendation would be made soon.

He also revealed Professor Ahluwalia was in Nauru at his invitation and was witnessing first-hand the challenges countries in Micronesia and the South Pacific faced.

In an earlier report by Luke Rawalai, Aingimea said USP was not solely owned by one country but 12 countries whose interest it needed to serve well.

Responding to questions from The Fiji Times, Aingimea said it was called the University of the South Pacific because it was inclusive.

“It is not a university of any particular country,” said Aingimea.

‘Not political institution’
“It is not a political institution; it should not be treated as a political institution.

“It should be treated as a place where ideas are fostered, where learning is upheld to be sacrosanct.

“I am also concerned that because of the reputational risk that USP carries, that we have to carry a reputation that will want donors to come in and give money.”

Aingimea said donors wanted to invest in the university’s maritime school, law school, and other schools within the institution, adding they needed confidence in the university’s administration.

“Donors need to see that we have the governance ability to be able to use their money well and to use it for the betterment of the Pacific countries.

“One of the most important things for us to remember is that the university is a regional institution and what I would like to basically tell the students and the staff is this, as a chancellor that I want to reassure them and want to emphasise that first and foremost are the staff and the students of the USP, their interests come first.

“Good governance strategy and vision must go hand in hand and that’s what many council members are concerned with and of course council must always be thinking ‘how do we safeguard our students, how do we safeguard our staff’.

“That also is of great importance.”

Litia Cava and Luke Rawalai are reporters of The Fiji Times.

The Fiji government has suspended its funding grants to the University of the South Pacific.

This comes after months of conflict at the regional institution between the regional governing council and the Fiji-based university management.

Fiji had allocated almost US$13 million in grants to the university for the current financial year.

• READ MORE: The ongoing USP leadership saga

Last week, Islands Business reported that the Chancellor and Nauru President Lionel Aingimea had alled for a special council meeting to determine the fate of two senior Fiji executives.

“Controversial pro-chancellor of the University of the South Pacific Winston Thompson of Fiji has been instructed to convene another urgent meeting of the USP Council,” reported editor Samisoni Pareti.

“This time … Aingimea told Thompson that the university’s supreme body [would] need to determine his fate and that of the chair of the council’s audit and risk committee, Mehmood Khan, also of Fiji.

“Supporting [the chancellor’s] call are council members from Marshall Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and representatives of the governments of Australia and New Zealand and the university Senate, staff and student bodies.”

Accepted exoneration of the VC
Thompson held a press conference earlier this month and said he had accepted the decision by the council to exonerate vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia of misconduct allegations.

But Thompson claimed there was a disconnect between the council and the university management.

In June, Professor Ahluwalia was suspended by the USP’s Executive Committee led by Thompson.

But he was reinstated after weeks of protests by students and staff, when the university council – which includes most of the region’s governments – ruled due process had not been followed.

On Thursday, FBC News reported Aiyaz Saiyed-Khaiyum as saying the Fiji government – as the largest grant contributor to the USP – was concerned at the “continuous question marks about the lack of adherence to the principles of good governance in the day to day administration of USP”.

The report said the government was particularly and deeply concerned about the lack of investigations into serious allegations that have been identified by both Thompson and Khan.

Sayed-Khaiyum said the USP council had ignored the recommendations of the special executive committee – that at least 14 of the 33 allegations against Professor Ahluwalia required an independent investigation.

The USP has been told that until a thorough and independent investigation was carried out to the satisfaction of the Fiji government, grants to the university would be stopped with immediate effect.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

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Nauru President Lionel Aingimea has accused a “small group” of Fiji officials of “hijacking” the 12-country regional University of the South Pacific and suspending the vice-chancellor.

He has called for an urgent meeting of the full University Council to reverse the “illegitimate” action against vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia, which he described as a “personal vendetta”.

“The future of our regional Pacific university is now seriously in jeopardy,” he wrote yesterday in a statement following two days of extraordinary events at the Laucala campus in Fiji.

READ MORE: Commotion at USP over vice-chancellor’s suspension

Hundreds of staff and students have met in rallies around campus protesting against the treatment of Professor Ahluwalia, a Canadian, and demanding governance and transparency at the institution.

The USP Students Association (USPSA) federal council also issued an open letter yesterday calling for the resignations of the USP Council chair, former Fiji diplomat Winston Thompson; deputy chair Aloma Johansson; and the chair of the council’s audit and risk committee, Mahmood Khan.

The statement signed by Joseph Sua, chair and president of the USPSA federal body, threatened a boycott of exams by students if the University Council did not act.

“The students will not step back from participating in peaceful demonstrations and boycotting exams, classes and other activities from USP’s 14 campuses should the USP Council fail to act,” Sua wrote.

Saying he was “appalled” at the developments at USP, President Aingimea wrote in his protest letter: “The executive committee [of the USP Council] met despite the conflicts of interest and the serious concerns expressed by the council members.

“Due process was disregarded. This must not be allowed to rest here and further action is warranted.

“In recent days, the hostility and a lack of duty of care to a council-appointed vice-chancellor shows what a small group of members, who are not direct members, have high-jacked [sic] council processes and failed to accord duty of care and natural justice to a council-appointed vice-chancellor,” wrote the president, a lawyer and USP graduate.

“These actions represent a personal vendetta against the vice-chancellor.”

President Aingimea wrote that it was now “high time” for the “entire [USP] Council to coalesce and begin a process to remove the pro-chancellor [Winston Thompson]”.

Ten council members are needed to support an urgent special meeting.

Another council member, Samoan Deputy Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, posted a statement on social media saying: “Be interesting to see how that [a special council meeting] pans out. USP at tipping point of becoming nationalised and the region looks on!”

Thompson has made no public statement about the issue, telling Suva-based Islands Business news magazine: “I’m not making any comments until the proper time.”

‘Fight for justice’ plea
It was reported that Professor Ahluwalia had been told to “step aside” to allow for an independent investigation relating to allegations of “misconduct” and breaches of USP policies and procedures.

However, addressing supporters at a protest at the university’s Laucala campus yesterday, Professor Ahluwalia said he had not received any communication about stepping down.

He appealed to students and staff to carry on the “fight for justice” he had started.

The governments of Nauru, New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga had reportedly called on the USP Council to drop the investigation into the vice-chancellor.

Professor Ahluwalia has been widely regarded by supporters as a whistleblower over practices at the university that he had exposed in allegations contained in a report last year.

Allegations of serious cases of mismanagement and abuse of process surfaced at the USP involving its former vice chancellor and president in May last year and were widely reported on by Islands Business in June and other Pacific media.

In an interview with RNZ’s Pacific Beat at the time, editor Samisoni Pareti said the allegations involved 11 staff, including a former vice-chancellor, and the claims were being investigated by Fiji’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC).

Investigation report
It is understood islands Business is publishing a report today exposing the contents of a hushed up university investigation by international consultants last year.

The USP Students Association said it had its email links to the university’s students blocked and its open letter was sent to Pacific Media Watch.

The open letter addressed to USP Council chair and pro vice-chancellor Winston Thompson said:

Pro-Chancellor

I write this letter on behalf of the students of our 12 member countries and 14 campuses to convey to you our intense displeasure at the way you are handling matters as the Pro-Chancellor of the university.

The student body has cited the letter written to Council by Mr Semi Tukana, whom you appointed to the sub-committee to investigate the Vice-Chancellor Professor Pal [Ahluwalia]. The letter clearly points out that you and Mr Mahmood Khan are using the high office of your council positions to continue the personal vendetta against the VCP and blindsiding members of the University Council.

Despite numerous warnings and alarming concerns raised by the members of the University Council, you disregarded and disrespected these by convening the Executive Committee Meeting on June 8th 2020 to consider the removal of the VCP.

Despite your obvious conflict of interest on matters regarding the VCP, you participated in the meeting and also allowed other members who carry a conflict of interest to be part of the meeting of the Executive Committee yesterday.

You ignored and failed to respond to any of the alarming concerns raised by member countries, staff and students. This is poor governance on your part.

You have defied the intents and resolutions of the USP Council Meeting held in Port Vila last year that sought your commitment to work with the VCP and to let the special commission of the Council to look into matters as such independently.

You have withheld the minutes of the past council meeting and the special council meeting of the University that is supposed to be provided to all members despite numerous requests from members.

You have failed to acknowledge the great conflict of interest that you carry against the VCP since March 2019 when you made it clear to the public that you want to “sack the VCP” .

The Students of the University of the South Pacific have lost confidence in you as the Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the University Council; the Student Body has also lost confidence in the Deputy Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee.

In summary, we demand the resignation of:

1. Mr Winston Thompson, Chair of Council

2. Ms Aloma Johansson, Deputy Chair of Council

3. Mr Mahmood Khan, Chair of Audit & Risk Committee

The Student Council requests all Member States to urgently look into our concerns and make appropriate arrangements to appoint an interim Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council and to declare the Executive Committee Meeting held on June 8th 2020 as null and void!

The Students will not step back from participating in peaceful demonstrations and boycotting exams, classes and other activities from USP’s 14 Campuses should the USP Council fail to act.

On behalf of Student Council.

Sincerely,

Joseph Sua
Chair and President of USPSA Federal Body
The University of the South Pacific Students Association
USP Laucala Campus, Suva Fiji