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.

• READ MORE: Other Sitiveni Rabuka reports

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.

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.

• READ MORE: ‘Nepotism, lack of transparency and accountability’ claims emerge at USP
• Other USP reports

“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.

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.

• READ MORE: Other Fiji elections reports

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.

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.

• READ MORE: The long-running USP governance saga

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.

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.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan crisis reports

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.

I am from the Papua New Guinea generation that was born in the 1980s, raised in the 1990s but neglected, cheated and robbed in 2000s.

We were sent to school to be educated. They told us if you work hard and do well in school, you will get a good job. That all will be well.

So with juvenile enthusiasm and youthful vigour, we went out to conquer academia. But at the turn of the last corner, a different destination awaited.

• READ MORE: Papua New Guineas in crisis over covid-19

Jobs were few. Nepotism had become entrenched. The economy wasn’t doing well. Tax was among the highest. Rent, utilities and cost of living had passed through the stratosphere!

Where is the promise? What happened to the dream? How did paradise go wrong?

Questions leading to more questions. We are told to just appreciate life, wake up at 6am, be at the office before 8am, give 40 hours of your life weekly for 50 weeks in a year, contribute to Nasfund, customary Obligations, “hevi” Pay Tax (which falls into a blackhole mostly) and die a sad miserable death after the struggle.

We’ve argued. We’ve protested. We’ve rallied. We’ve spoken out. On the streets. At private gatherings. On social media. But there is no change. It only gets worse.

More scandals… More abuse
More scandals. More deals. More abuse. More theft. A grim reality and a bleak future.

Papua New Guinea belongs to 9+ million people. Not only 111 home grown princes and kings (there are a few good men).

All lives should matter. Both in the Christian Context and our Melanesian Culture. Yet the system has been mutated to favor the haves. The elites. The connected. While sons and daughters of ordinary folks are left to scavenge and get by.

We fight for little contracts, compete for tea boy roles. While foreigners get mega kina contracts. The fishing, logging and mining permits. No downstream processing. It’s good for us but bad for them. So it must not happen.

Those connected get the top jobs. Get the good land while we live with mosquitoes in settlements and villages. We get by on minimum wage and high tax. Blackouts, POTHOLES, crowded classrooms and closed aid posts. Em normal ah?

When will this change? Who will change it? Our fathers came from the colonial era. Schooled by “masters” and disciplined by the “cane” to accept whatever treatment dished out by the powers that be.

Subconsciously, they passed this onto us. Unfortunate but inherent. Do we go on accepting all this? Are we spectators in another man’s land? Is this what we want the children we love and raise today to inherit tomorrow?

Change must come
Nay! No! Never! It must change. Change must come. Not through peaceful rallies and patriotic speeches. No! It must come through something more powerful and potent.

Change must come through the ballots. Yes. That’s how rubbish gets in. That’s how disaster is voted in. That’s how the status quo is maintained. And that’s how change must come!

I spent 17 years of my life to be a telecommunications engineer. I started out as a graduate engineer and worked hard because that is what I loved. Not to go sit in Parliament. But the way things are going, Parliament needs a complete overhaul. Because it affects everything that happens to us.

We are travelling in a bus on the journey of life. With our families and kantrimen. And the driver is drunk and careless. We cannot pretend all is well. Our families’ and our nation’s welfare is in the balance. We must act or crash! We must take back the driver’s seat!

Church, sports, work, farming, marketing, fishing and everything else will work well if the driver is sober and sound. Responsible and accountable. Parliament matters. It’s not a politician’s sport. It’s a country’s life.

But no. They come every 5 years and sponsor sports, donate to church groups, ground breaking and sky breaking ceremonies, lamb flaps, sips kola na 6 packs wantaim liklik koble and boom! We sell out future!

Issau, Jacob and the bowl of soup every 5 years. Then they go and deal with the foreigners, miners, loggers etc and sell our life, land and the future. And tax us heavily to redeem their carelessness and greed.

We are Melanesians
We are Melanesians. Our forefathers fought, killed and were killed protecting their land and families? Education was supposed to empower us. Not cage us. We pray for healing and deliverance.

While the enemy is actioning his faith by using money and getting results. No surprise there. Faith without action is dead. Israel left Egypt for their Promised Land. But they had to fight, die and struggle for that dream.

Not just pray for healing. Isn’t that our Christianity? Faith and action working in tandem to produce results?

There is work to be done. And it requires all of us. Not Highlanders, Coastals or Islanders. It requires All ye sons to Arise. We are not our own enemies. It’s not about you or me. No! Can’t we see what’s happening? They sponsor division and infighting to distract our attention while they help themselves to our resources and land.

Enough of our in-house issues. Let’s rise as Papua New Guineans. United in the effort to rescue, protect and preserve our land for us today and our children tomorrow.

While we still have the strength. My generation has to rise and take lead. Or tomorrow, our sons will complete college and clean a Chinese kaibar for minimum wage!

Politics affects everything. Look no further then the current covid-19 lockdown. You can say it’s fake. No to vaccines. Whatever. But 111 men sitting in an air conditioned building driving fancy cars and living the dream decide for 9+ million. So which is it?

Arise for #PNG4PNG
Young men and women must arise from all 4 corners of Papua New Guinea and unite with a single theme – PNG 4 PNG.

Government matters. It’s not for the wealthy and bigshots. It is where our land is protected or sold. Where our future is destroyed or preserved. We must complain less and start educating our families and communities. Get involved. It’s our land.

While soldiers are patrolling our borders from Vanimo to Daru, the real enemy is here with us. They don’t wear a uniform. They don’t carry guns. They use money to control elections and politicians.

We eat their money during elections and sell our land and future to their proxies. Their agents. Who come and promise to fight corruption and build a school. To alleviate our problems and give us the dream.

But they go in and serve the enemy. Why? Because they’re owned. Bought off and paid for. How gullible we are. Fighting for crumbs while they sit in restaurants and cut the biggest deals.

This has to stop. Good men still live here. My Land, My Future, My Vote – Not for Sale!