The new Fijian Broadcasting Corporation board says they have no confidence in the ability of the CEO, Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, and they have chosen to legally terminate his employment status.
The Chief Financial Officer, Vimlesh Sagar will act in this position until such time as the Board can confidently appoint a person with the appropriate commercial competency and attributes needed to lead FBC.
FBC Chairman, Ajay Bhai Amrit also says they have also been made aware that Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum was earning considerably more than Government Ministers and even the Prime Minister, which was a shock to the board and he is sure would be a shock to most of the citizens of this country.
Amrit says last Friday, the new board met with Sayed-Khaiyum and Executive Directors from FBC.
The board meeting took place over a 7-hour period, as Amrit and his fellow Directors listened intently to Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and his senior management team as they updated them on FBC’s operations.
Amrit says it became quite obvious to them that without the Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) cash injection from Government over the past years, this limited liability company would be classed as being technically insolvent.
The FBC Chairman says of greater concern to them was that they could not see a robust strategic plan going forward that clearly identified how the commercial business of FBC would be self-sustaining.
Amrit says the leadership over the past 10+years has totally relied on Government revenue to continue its operations, and this is certainly not what the new board’s intent is.
The FBC Chairman says they are putting in measures to clearly separate Public Broadcasting from Commercial Broadcasting for both radio and TV.
He says this way they will have more accurate financial information on the long-term viability of the commercial transacted businesses.
Amrit says he has had preliminary discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Professor Biman Prasad and with the concurrence of the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, they can inform people that the Government grant to FBC will be reviewed.
He says the FBC Board will work with staff and management to ensure that FBC is a financially viable and a self-sustaining commercial business, while honouring its PSB responsibilities.
Amrit also says they will happily work with other media organisations to ensure that there is a positive change to the current media laws and this will allow their newsroom to function in a fresh, balanced and new environment going forward.
He assures all of their diligent staff and senior management that it will be business as usual, but moving towards new goals and new opportunities.
The Fijian Broadcasting Corporation says an investigation has been called to look into the spending of the Public Service Broadcasting fee or grant from government to FBC, which since Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum took over in 2008 is now totalling a staggering $93.782 million in taxpayers money.
FBC Chair, Ajay Bhai Amrit says accountability and transparency has been brought up in Parliament many times over the past few years and it saddens him to have to confirm reports are true regarding the purchase of a vehicle for the CEO that has cost the company nearly $200,000.
Amrit says the board considers it highly inappropriate and this certainly isn’t the direction the new government and the new FBC board want to go in.
He says this is extravagance at its greatest.
The FBC Chair says they have also been made aware that the CEO of FBC, Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum earns considerably more than Government Ministers and even the Prime Minister, which was a shock to them and he is sure would be a shock to most of the citizens of this country.
Sayed-Khaiyum’s contract has been terminated.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
