National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad claims the reason Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has suspended Fiji’s grant to USP is because he is unhappy that the USP Council did not take action against the new Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Prasad says the Council also did not agree to cover up the USP funding abuses exposed by Vice-Chancellor Pal Ahluwalia.
He says Sayed-Khaiyum is making this threat to assuage his bruised ego and if the Prime Minister has any concerns about the 30,000 Fiji and regional students and staff, he would immediately stop this nonsense from Sayed-Khaiyum.
Prasad says these funds belong to the people of Fiji and they are not the Attorney General’s playthings.
The NFP Leader says this behaviour threatens the long-term stability of the institution and is questioning how the university can plan for its operations if its biggest member is prepared to withhold funds any time it feels like.
Prasad adds the next threat will be to Vice-Chancellor Pal Ahluwalia as it is well known that the Fijian Government wants him out.
He adds the Government had made similar threats a few years ago when it threatened to withhold funding if Professor Wadan Narsey continued to be employed there who was later required to retire. We have contacted Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. He has not made any comments.
The Fijian Government had earlier said that the letter sent to the Pro-Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific on 23rd of September 2020 speaks for itself.
In a statement, the government had said that for this financial year, $27.7 million has been allocated to USP, part of the Fijian Government’s contribution, which will be disbursed once a grant agreement is signed and upon resolution of the matters which have been highlighted in the letter.
It says from January 2020 to date the Fijian Government has paid $21.8 million.
The government looks forward to the matters in the letter being addressed expeditiously.
