Health Minister, Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says although NFP Leader, Professor Biman Prasad is denying that he called for a 35 percent pay cut for all civil servants in a Fiji Times opinion piece, the opinion piece is still on the NFP site where Prasad had made the call for a pay cut for the Prime Minister, Ministers, Speaker, Members of Parliament and all those in the civil service and those in the government commercial companies.

Doctor Waqainabete says as a responsible government, they have decided not to impose a 35 percent pay cut on all civil servants as proposed by the NFP Leader.

The Health Minister says it is important for the doctors and nurses working tirelessly at the moment to know what the NFP had said in the opinion article on March 21st.

Professor Biman Prasad said he never said to cut the pay of all those in the civil service.

Fijivillages can confirm that the opinion article by Professor Prasad on March 21st is still on the NFP website where Prasad had made the call for a pay cut for the Prime Minister, Ministers, Speaker, Members of Parliament and all those in the civil service and those in the government commercial companies and statutory organisations.

Professor Prasad says there was an error and somewhere along the way, his opinion piece was changed as Fiji Times also sends all it’s articles to it’s lawyers. He says he does not want to blame anyone and changes will also be made to the article on their website.

Professor Prasad also says that he stands by his interviews given on March 16th and 17th where he did not say that all those in the civil service should get a pay cut. The opnion piece was publishe din the Fiji Times on March 21st.