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22.01.2022 Does anyone in Fiji wonder why Faiyaz Koya is standing in as Attorney General while Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is indisposed when there's a better lawyer in the cabinet capable of taking on the role in the form of Mereseini Vuniwaqa? You'll recall that Koya was very briefly AG immediately after the 2014 election but had to stand down when, er, "skeletons were found in his closet" and he was quietly dumped. Why is he now deemed fit to fill in for ASK when he was deemed unfit for the ...job seven years ago? And how can he successfully do three extra jobs when he already has four ministries - Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport? Of course, no one in Fiji is ever told and no-one ever asks why. Yet one thing is certain. The Muslim brotherhood is alive and well in Fiji ( Koya and ASK are friends and political allies). And when they have a chance to give more than lip service to women's empowerment, the leadership glaringly fails the test. Mere Vuniwaqa was once Permanent Secretary for Justice and is one of the most intelligent people in the cabinet. A missed opportunity that won't be lost on ordinary Fijians and especially the iTaukei. https://www.fijivillage.com//Faiyaz-Koya-acts-as-Minister/ See more

22.01.2022 BREAKING NEWS: Now confirmed that Makereta Konrote, the Permanent Secretary for Economy, has resigned. PREVIOUS: Yet another permanent secretary is evidently going through the revolving door at the top of the Fijian government. There are reports that one of the most important permanent secretaries has resigned and an announcement is imminent. If the reports are confirmed, it will be a big blow to confidence in the government's ability to manage the current economic crisis. For however much the AG tries to talk up the prospect of a foreign buyer for EFL, the government's finances are dire. Why did he flag this deal publicly before the ink is dry on a contract document? Undoubtedly to draw attention away from a big defection that will send shock waves through political circles.

20.01.2022 Confirmation from high level sources in Suva that Fiji's Attorney General and effective number two in the Bainimarama government, Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum, has undergone a heart bypass operation in Singapore. He also received surgery to repair a hernia. While the AG had flagged in one of his nightly "budget consultations" that he was to undergo a "major operation" on his current Singapore visit, the nature of that surgery wasn't disclosed. With news of the bypass operation on top... of the stents that had already been installed to keep the AG's heart in order, there's concern behind the scenes about the health of Fiji's two most senior leaders. The Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, also suffers from a heart condition that has necessitated the installation of stents. All of which raises serious questions about the long term prognosis for both men, who show no signs of surrendering power. Of course, none of this is canvassed in the local media, with Fijian voters expected to accept whatever they are told without question. See more

14.01.2022 The body language says it all. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has no concept of the independence of the civil service and thinks nothing of obliging the outgoing Permanent Secretary for the Economy, Makereta Konrote, to pose for a photo with him in her official resignation announcement. She doesn't work for him. She works for the state. And while her job is to implement the policies of the government of the day, it is not for a "here today, gone tomorrow" politician to drag her into a photo opportunity when everyone knows she has resigned in the lead-up to the budget because she can't stand his capriciousness and poor economic judgment any longer. Shameless.

13.01.2022 A salute to the contributors to my comments section and fresh information on the latest political events in Fiji, including cabinet dismay that the Attorney General failed to inform his fellow ministers that his recent changes to the criminal justice system were opposed by the heads of the principal institutions of state involved. https://www.grubsheet.com.au/when-opposites-collide-in-fur/

08.01.2022 Now confirmed that Makereta Konrote, the Permanent Secretary for Economy in the Fijian government, has resigned. She has done so during the budget consultations and in the lead-up to one of the most important budgets in Fijian history - the crisis budget heavily reliant on overseas borrowings to deal with the fallout of the Covid crisis. The latest in a long line of resignations and sackings of permanent secretaries and yet more confirmation of a government in total disarray.... Konrote - who is highly respected - is reported to have repeatedly clashed with her minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, about economic policy and direction. Her departure is a huge blow for confidence in the government and its ability to weather the current crisis. Makereta Konrote is being replaced in an acting capacity by Shiri Gounder from within the Ministry of Economy. The spin being placed on the whole thing on the government's Facebook page is the epitome of shamelessness. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum showers her with praise under a photo of her looking awkward posing beside him. But no explanation as to why she is bailing out at such a critical time, when the future of the nation hinges on the coming budget. See more