Health Tender: Counsel for Bainimarama, Sayed-Khaiyum and Dr Sharma request for trial next year

Defence counsel for former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, former Attorney-General Aiyaz-Sayed Khaiyum and former Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma have asked in the Suva High Court today if their trial can be called next year due to late additional disclosures filed by the State and also for the State to bear the costs because they are responsible for the delay.

They appeared before Justice Usaia Ratuvili this morning where Wylie Clarke who is representing Dr Sharma says the trial dates cannot be maintained due to the late disclosures from the State.

Clarke says they prepared according to material already given, adding that in September last year they had asked prosecution if they were going to limit themselves to what was already given.

Counsel for Bainimarama and Sayed-Khaiyum, Gul Fatima says she will not be free till the later part of next year as they have had to rearrange cases to the beginning of next year to accommodate this trial and she has to deal with those first.

Justice Ratuvili has told State lawyer Pooja Mishra to file an affidavit by Wednesday on the cause of the late disclosures.

When Mishra told the court that the disclosures were brought to them late, Justice Ratuvili stated that the Police do the investigations, but they lay the charges.

The matter has been adjourned to Friday.

Sayed-Khaiyum is charged with one count of abuse of office and one of obstructing the course of justice, while Bainimarama is charged with one count of abuse of office.

It is alleged that on 20th October 2011, being employed as the Acting Minister of Finance, Sayed-Khaiyum recklessly abused his position as the Minister of Finance by granting a waiver of the tender process without lawful justification for a Ministry of Health Tender CTN 153/2011 in violation of the Procurement Regulation.

It is also alleged that on 29th June 2012, being employed in the public service as the Attorney General, Sayed-Khaiyum intentionally obstructed the FICAC investigation against Dr. Neil Sharma relating to a Health Tender CTN 66/2011 by directing all investigations to be shelved until further notice, which resulted in the cessation of the FICAC investigation and no criminal charges being filed against Dr Neil Sharma for the past 10 years.

Dr Sharma is charged with two counts of abuse of office and two counts of breach of trust by a person employed in the public service.

It is alleged that between 3rd August 2011 to 13th September 2011, Sharma abused his position as the Minister of Health by intentionally failing to comply with statutory requirements for tenders stipulated under the Procurement Regulation for the Ministry of Health Tender CTN 66/2011 and actively engaged in acts to undermine CTN 66/2011 in favour of the bidder, Hospital Engineering & Consultancy Ltd, also known as Hospineer.