The Fiji National Provident Fund is yet to comment on Fiji Labour Party Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry raising questions about 9 top FNPF executives getting paid an average of $327,000.
Chaudhry says in the four years from 2019 to 2023, the average executive salaries went up by $148,000 or $37,000 annually, rising from an average $179,000 in 2019 to $327,000 in 2023. He says the Fund executives received fairly substantial increases even at the height of the COVID crisis of 2020/21 when the Fund was struggling through the huge loss in contribution income.
The FLP Leader says massive increments awarded to top Fund executives has to be weighed against the fact that workers’ themselves are paid a pittance of 8% in annuity rate, slashed unilaterally from 15% in 2012 by the Bainimarama administration.
He says the Minister, the Board and the Management continue to totally ignore urgent pleas from pensioners for a review of the 2012 restructure of the Fund, in fairness to these senior citizens who were unlawfully stripped of their pensions by a massive 50%.
While reacting to Chaudhry’s concerns, National Federation Party President, Parmod Chand says Chaudhry should stop throwing stones at others when he himself is in a glass house with his tainted and tarnished reputation clear as broad daylight.
Chand says Chaudhry is a thoroughly tainted and tarnished leader due to his financial impropriety conviction in terms of failure to declare a few million dollars tucked away in overseas accounts and is least qualified to talk about legitimate salaries of the executive management of the Fiji National Provident Fund.
He says Chaudhry’s statement is a worthless attempt to garner the support of current and future pensioners of the Fund. Chand says Mahendra Chaudhry must know that the unelected Bainimarama administration did not fall out of the sky to rule Fiji for a total of 16 years, of which 8 years was the FijiFirst government from late September 2014.
He says the regime was born out of a military coup following the overthrow of a democratically elected multiparty government of SDL and FLP led by Laisenia Qarase.
The NFP President says despite that multiparty government having 9 FLP Cabinet Ministers, Chaudhry, for all intents and purposes, supported its overthrow at gunpoint when he accepted the position of the unelected Finance and Sugar Minister in the regime in January 2007.
He says this is despite the fact that as political leader, he was thrice the victim of coups, including one in May 2000 when his own government was illegally ousted from power. Chand says despite fully understanding the ramifications of an illegal act and the irreversible damage caused by the rape of democracy, Chaudhry joined an illegal regime.
He says Chaudhry shredded his political morality by defending his actions when he said at that time the legality of the administration that he elected to serve was yet to be determined.
The NFP President says Chaudhry also ignored the contents of a letter, personally delivered to him in late November 2006 by Professor Prasad and Mahendra Reddy, who urged him not to support the overthrow of democracy because by then Bainimarama had made it clear the military did not want the Qarase-led multiparty government.
He says the restructure of FNPF is one of several damaging actions by the regime that Chaudhry helped to establish its foundation during his 18 months reign as an unelected and illegal Minister.
Chand says to blame the Coalition Government, Professor Prasad, FNPF Board and Management of not doing anything to review the restructure done by the Bainimarama regime is the hallmark of Chaudhry’s political philosophy - blame everyone else but himself.
He adds Chaudhry has no political morality and credibility to talk about money matters, because this is a leader who tried to hide AUD$1.5 million in overseas bank accounts, which he did not declare, breached the Exchange Control Act and was subsequently convicted and fined $1 million.
We have sent questions to FNPF regarding the allegations of the executive's pay and they are yet to respond.
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