Suva Thursday: A Day Of Leaks, Machinations, "Secret" Meetings And Speculation
For weeks it was clear all was not well on the “fourth floor” of the Home Affairs Building — the offices of Fiji’s military chief and interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama.
But what exactly was wrong?
- ADVERTISEMENT -
Last week, Bainimarama’s “right-hand man,” his Permanent Secretary Parmesh Chand resigned in controversial circumstances.
This week, the bottled water industry was plunged into crisis as a 20-cents-per-liter tax on locally-bottled water took its toll. Water companies pleaded for the regime to reconsider the tax on both exports and local sales but to no avail. A week after the tax was imposed on July 1, the 10 companies collectively agreed to halt production.
But it wasn’t until Natural Waters of Viti Limited, the bottlers of world-famous Fiji Water, shut down its plant at Yaqara on Wednesday and sent more than 500 workers home, that Bainimarama decided to act.
The man accused of precipitating both the incidents is interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.
Fiji Labor Party leader Chaudhry and respected civil servant Chand do not see eye-to-eye, according to a Pacific Magazine source who spoke to Chand several times well before his resignation last week.
Chand has persistently refused to talk about why he quit but the Fiji Times reported it was allegedly over “meddling senior interim Cabinet ministers and broken lines of communication.”
On Thursday, Chaudhry’s fate appeared to hang in the balance for his handling of the bottled water issue. The night before Bainimarama had resolved it by repealing the tax imposed by Chaudhry.
This came after Interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and members of Bainimarama’s Military Council — not Chaudhry — met with the water industry representatives on Wednesday night.
By Thursday morning, rumours were rife — on Fiji’s political blogosphere, among NGOs and on the streets — that the Military Council wanted Chaudhry to be sacked. First Bainimarama and then Chaudhry went on air to deny that a sacking or resignation was imminent.
Explaining Chaudhry’s sidelining, Bainimarama told Legend FM News he was not able to get in touch with Chaudhry on Wednesday afternoon since his mobile phone was turned off. He added that he wanted Sayed-Khaiyum to meet the industry representatives because he was neutral.
Compounding the impression that Chaudhry is in an embattled position, Parmesh Chand Thursday agreed to return to office, in what the Public Service Commission chairman Rishi Ram described as a “unanimous decision” between Chand and the commission.
Throughout the day, a flurry of meetings was taking place starting with Chaudhry meeting Army Chief-of-Staff Colonel Mohammed Aziz first thing in the morning. According to Chaudhry it was only a briefing on what had transpired in the meeting with the bottled water industry the night before.
After that Chaudhry and Bainimarama — who is ill — met at the commander’s residence but they both denied Chaudhry’s resignation was discussed.
Immediately after Chaudhry had left, Bainimarama’s Military Council and Sayed-Khaiyum went up to his Flagstaff residence.
The Military Council included Chief-of-Staff Colonel Mohammed Aziz, Immigration Director Commander Viliame Naupoto, military third-in-command Lieutenant-Colonel Ratu Tevita Roko Ului Mara and Police Commissioner Commodore Esala Teleni.
It is not clear what the meeting was about and officials would not comment.
A press conference had been announced at which Aziz was to have addressed the media but this was cancelled without explanation after the meeting with Bainimarama.
In a press conference late on Thursday Chaudhry reiterated there was “no question” about his position in the interim Cabinet and denied the issue involving Parmesh Chand was discussed with Bainimarama.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Chaudhry told journalists. He also laughed off questions about an alleged deal he struck with Bainimarama to leave office in a month.
Earlier in the day, Chaudhry claimed to Legend FM News the rumors of his alleged resignation were orchestrated by sections of the media “vested interests.”
He defended the decision to impose the tax on bottled water, saying it was a collective Cabinet decision. An emergency Cabinet session will take place on Friday morning at which Chaudhry says he will gauge the ministers’ reaction to the repealing before making a final decision.
Chaudhry also suggested to Legend FM he may quit soon, although not because of problems within Cabinet but because his work in rebuilding the economy was almost complete.
He said once he was satisfied the economy was on track he would resign and begin prepare to contest the general election, the date of which is still uncertain. All this comes as doubt grows over whether Bainimarama will keep his promise to hold elections in March 2009.
The regime has insisted electoral reforms and its People’s Charter for Change, Peace and Progress must be in place before the country goes to the polls. Last week Bainimarama said the target of early 2009 was unachievable telling Radio Fiji News “there will be no elections next year.”
However, the international community has been putting pressure on the regime to keep its word. The European Union reiterated its stand this month that it will not release aid money if the regime fails to hold elections early next year. Most of the aid is earmarked to help prop up Fiji’s struggling sugar industry.
While Fiji’s interim regime is at pains to project a united front, Thursday’s events — the leaks and the public contradictions of the protagonists — showed that that front may be bulging at the seams.
