Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says Fiji Labour Party Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry has now come out of his hole as he can now contest in the elections however Chaudhry says the issue at hand that needs to be addressed is how thousands of families have no jobs and can’t cope with the ever-rising living costs and who have to live from one generation to another in squatter settlements.
While speaking on FBC’s Hindi program, Aaina, Sayed-Khaiyum said Chaudhry now sees there is a benefit for him and this is why he told farmers not to harvest cane and also claimed that the government made announcements regarding guaranteed cane prices because Chaudhry had said things about this before the National Budget.
He says they could have also played politics however they do not do all these things and they do not lie.
Sayed-Khaiyum further says Chaudhry was charged under the Foreign Exchange Control Act and was found guilty and paid a million dollars in fine. The Minister for Economy says the same man is now talking about accountability.
He says Chaudhry was told to leave the Bainimarama Government.
Sayed-Khaiyum further said that he went to Chaudhry’s residence one night. He says the Prime Minister had said that because of Chaudhry’s tax issues, the government’s image was getting bad and Chaudhry was told to resign.
Sayed-Khaiyum says Chaudhry is now saying that he had left the Government himself. While responding to what he called the self-initiated, prolonged interview on FBC, Chaudhry says Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum exposed himself as one clutching at straws to divert attention from the issues of the day.
The FLP Leader says the issue for the people today is not whether Mahendra Chaudhry, voluntarily or otherwise, resigned from Bainimarama’s interim cabinet in 2008.
He says the issue is the pitiable state to which Fiji has been reduced by the Government where the nation is living on loans and the charity of our neighbours.
Chaudhry says he was cleared of all allegations against him by an Independent Inquiry appointed by Voreqe Bainimarama on tax and foreign exchange issues in February 2008.
He says Sayed-Khaiyum himself delivered that Inquiry Report to him at his residence and later fully exonerated him at a press conference. Chaudhry says Sayed-Khaiyum never came to his home to deliver a message from Bainimarama for him to resign.
Chaudhry also claims that the Exchange Control charges brought against him two years after he was cleared by the Independent Inquiry were politically motivated.
The FLP Leader says Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has forgotten that Chaudhry is made of much sterner stuff and will never surrender to injustice or deceit. He says he should not try it on him.
He says as for his resignation, Bainimarama had written to all cabinet ministers informing them that preparations were being made for general elections to be held in March 2009 and that all those intending to contest were to resign six months before then. He says he would have resigned anyway as he was intending to contest.
Chaudhry says admittedly, he was having problems with some members of the administration on governance issues, particularly on adherence to accountability and transparency but he stood his ground and left it to the Prime Minister to decide.
The Prime Minister has said that they had to remove Chaudhry because of his tax case. Chaudhry says reverting to the issue at hand, a news report in the Fiji Sun of 25th August 2008 says Bainimarama dismissed reports that he had asked Chaudhry to resign and there is no truth in reports that he was asked to resign.
But Chaudhry says these are not matters which are relevant to Fiji today nor are the people interested in such muck-raking by Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum who, by all accounts, has proved to be a monumental failure.
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