Government by Greed: The Beginning
After I wrote my article titled “Peter Foster Drops Bomb on Fiji” (IW August 21), readers expected a follow-up with details. Unfortunately, I had to “straighten” out misconceptions in the local media regarding politics in Fiji. So the last slot was missed and those of you who wrote to enquire as well as those who waited, here goes.
Greed seeped into government in Fiji almost naturally as would have been expected in any power framework dealing with resources. As the saying goes “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”; this is what happened especially after the 1987 coup when any and every institution of control was rubbished and disregarded with impunity.
A lot of hidden jealousies and dark aspirations surfaced as Rabuka locked Ratu Mara in a silent tussle for control of the out-of-control country after May 1987. Mara thought that the establishment would prop him, but he underestimated the ease with which that could be changed with the carrots and sticks that Rabuka already wielded. It is now virtually confirmed that Mara released Rabuka who, in turn, let loose a host of hungry, disrespectful, undignified and fast interests that continue to hound Fiji.
This gave birth to a culture that Foster aptly describes as, “an attitude of ‘I want, what I want, when I want it’. And if all else fails, I’ll take it”. The 1987 coup released this genie and it was not a good one for the country even though it helped a lot of Aladdins. After Rabuka crowed his “I did it my way” from the balcony of Suva Civic Centre, little coups took place all over the country.
First the military commander Ratu Epeli Nailatikau was replaced, then police commissioner PU Raman and his deputy Mosese Tuisawau dropped from sight. Methodist rebel-rouser, Manasa Lasaro was allowed to rampage and finally execute a coup at the Methodist HQ by removing its President Josateki Koroi and assuming control of that bastion of Fijian politics.
National Bank of Fiji
Then obscure National Bank of Fiji (NBF) manager, Visanti Makrava took over the bank in another closed-door coup. That started the mad rush to dip into Fiji’s only own bank. When Jai Ram Reddy finally blew the lid on that plunder in Fiji’s parliament of 1994, some $220-$300m had flown and the NBF had wilted to await its death certificate from auditors. Government reaction to this through senior Minister Berenado Vunibobo was, “that’s now water under the bridge”.
I’d heard of “money the grass”; Vunibobo gave it a new dimension – money the water! At about this time (1988-94), Fiji became rife with rumours of tons of money coming into the country from abroad. One group, Nai kelekeletabua went into retreat singing hymns while waiting for a boat with 4 container loads of money. This was supposed to be linked with some investment made by Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna during WWI when he was a French Foreign Legionnaire. That wait continues.
A more innovative group put together a sophisticated business plan to lure $200m from Kuwait. PM Rabuka, Attorney General Apaitia Seru, future Finance Minister Jim Ah Koy, etc. all got involved as $10m was released from the NBF to allow convicted conman Tony Stephens to ensconce himself in London in order to swing the deal through another intermediary, Fiji accountant Sultan Ali chaleted up in Switzerland.
A commission of inquiry was reluctantly convened when this failed to deliver, but in what became characteristic, no one was brought to task. After all, post-1987 Fiji rode on the ideology of Fijian self-determination and no one was prepared to define what this meant. Rights overrode responsibilities and plundering the national coffer was just one of its many dimensions. NBF happened to be in the way.
It was no secret that one of Rabuka’s major concerns following the 1987 coup was a lack of Fijian participation in business. He’d revamped the civil service by hounding out most senior bureaucrats of Indian descent. Studies show that this planted the seeds of mediocrity and cronyism that was to hound the Fiji civil service. An unseen triffid also sprouted alongside this; that was the powerful bureaucrat who operated above all administrative mechanisms of control.
As the run on NBF continued, word got around that easy access to cash was virtually guaranteed if you had a business proposal. This sparked a scramble as land and natural resources became the pivot on which resource owners, business emissaries cum consultants, bureaucrats, bankers and politicians tangoed to get the cash released. This was when Suva became abuzz with awkward-looking briefcase-toting business aspirants.
The demand on NBF funds became so acute that in one instance, Metuisela Mua, the head of Fiji’s newly formed intelligence service (FIS) demanded GM Makrava’s personal approval of a fast loan at the point of a gun. He didn’t anticipate the Rotuman fist that floored him and put an end to that jungle approach. That about summed up the NBF debacle.
At the end, Fiji’s first and only national bank was sucked dry and no one was brought to task for it. In the process a number of things happened: the hunger for big-time easy money from government heightened and spread through the country like a scourge, a group of local business consultants sprang up, the government official acquired the role of paid broker, and politicians played in as facilitators.
It was this group of power-plunderers who would determine Fiji’s destiny from here onwards. The song “who let the dogs out” comes to mind; Rabuka had released the dogs and their demands and antics would ransack Fiji and bring it to its knees. Keep tuned to the next issue for more.
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Subhash Appana is an academic and political commentator. The opinions contained in this article are entirely his and not necessarily shared by any organizations he may be associated with both in Fiji and abroad. Email subhasha@ais.ac.nz
After I wrote my article titled “Peter Foster Drops Bomb on Fiji” (IW August 21), readers expected a follow-up with details. Unfortunately, I had to “straighten” out misconceptions in the local media regarding politics in Fiji. So the last slot was missed and those of you who wrote to enquire as...
After I wrote my article titled “Peter Foster Drops Bomb on Fiji” (IW August 21), readers expected a follow-up with details. Unfortunately, I had to “straighten” out misconceptions in the local media regarding politics in Fiji. So the last slot was missed and those of you who wrote to enquire as well as those who waited, here goes.
Greed seeped into government in Fiji almost naturally as would have been expected in any power framework dealing with resources. As the saying goes “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”; this is what happened especially after the 1987 coup when any and every institution of control was rubbished and disregarded with impunity.
A lot of hidden jealousies and dark aspirations surfaced as Rabuka locked Ratu Mara in a silent tussle for control of the out-of-control country after May 1987. Mara thought that the establishment would prop him, but he underestimated the ease with which that could be changed with the carrots and sticks that Rabuka already wielded. It is now virtually confirmed that Mara released Rabuka who, in turn, let loose a host of hungry, disrespectful, undignified and fast interests that continue to hound Fiji.
This gave birth to a culture that Foster aptly describes as, “an attitude of ‘I want, what I want, when I want it’. And if all else fails, I’ll take it”. The 1987 coup released this genie and it was not a good one for the country even though it helped a lot of Aladdins. After Rabuka crowed his “I did it my way” from the balcony of Suva Civic Centre, little coups took place all over the country.
First the military commander Ratu Epeli Nailatikau was replaced, then police commissioner PU Raman and his deputy Mosese Tuisawau dropped from sight. Methodist rebel-rouser, Manasa Lasaro was allowed to rampage and finally execute a coup at the Methodist HQ by removing its President Josateki Koroi and assuming control of that bastion of Fijian politics.
National Bank of Fiji
Then obscure National Bank of Fiji (NBF) manager, Visanti Makrava took over the bank in another closed-door coup. That started the mad rush to dip into Fiji’s only own bank. When Jai Ram Reddy finally blew the lid on that plunder in Fiji’s parliament of 1994, some $220-$300m had flown and the NBF had wilted to await its death certificate from auditors. Government reaction to this through senior Minister Berenado Vunibobo was, “that’s now water under the bridge”.
I’d heard of “money the grass”; Vunibobo gave it a new dimension – money the water! At about this time (1988-94), Fiji became rife with rumours of tons of money coming into the country from abroad. One group, Nai kelekeletabua went into retreat singing hymns while waiting for a boat with 4 container loads of money. This was supposed to be linked with some investment made by Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna during WWI when he was a French Foreign Legionnaire. That wait continues.
A more innovative group put together a sophisticated business plan to lure $200m from Kuwait. PM Rabuka, Attorney General Apaitia Seru, future Finance Minister Jim Ah Koy, etc. all got involved as $10m was released from the NBF to allow convicted conman Tony Stephens to ensconce himself in London in order to swing the deal through another intermediary, Fiji accountant Sultan Ali chaleted up in Switzerland.
A commission of inquiry was reluctantly convened when this failed to deliver, but in what became characteristic, no one was brought to task. After all, post-1987 Fiji rode on the ideology of Fijian self-determination and no one was prepared to define what this meant. Rights overrode responsibilities and plundering the national coffer was just one of its many dimensions. NBF happened to be in the way.
It was no secret that one of Rabuka’s major concerns following the 1987 coup was a lack of Fijian participation in business. He’d revamped the civil service by hounding out most senior bureaucrats of Indian descent. Studies show that this planted the seeds of mediocrity and cronyism that was to hound the Fiji civil service. An unseen triffid also sprouted alongside this; that was the powerful bureaucrat who operated above all administrative mechanisms of control.
As the run on NBF continued, word got around that easy access to cash was virtually guaranteed if you had a business proposal. This sparked a scramble as land and natural resources became the pivot on which resource owners, business emissaries cum consultants, bureaucrats, bankers and politicians tangoed to get the cash released. This was when Suva became abuzz with awkward-looking briefcase-toting business aspirants.
The demand on NBF funds became so acute that in one instance, Metuisela Mua, the head of Fiji’s newly formed intelligence service (FIS) demanded GM Makrava’s personal approval of a fast loan at the point of a gun. He didn’t anticipate the Rotuman fist that floored him and put an end to that jungle approach. That about summed up the NBF debacle.
At the end, Fiji’s first and only national bank was sucked dry and no one was brought to task for it. In the process a number of things happened: the hunger for big-time easy money from government heightened and spread through the country like a scourge, a group of local business consultants sprang up, the government official acquired the role of paid broker, and politicians played in as facilitators.
It was this group of power-plunderers who would determine Fiji’s destiny from here onwards. The song “who let the dogs out” comes to mind; Rabuka had released the dogs and their demands and antics would ransack Fiji and bring it to its knees. Keep tuned to the next issue for more.
--
Subhash Appana is an academic and political commentator. The opinions contained in this article are entirely his and not necessarily shared by any organizations he may be associated with both in Fiji and abroad. Email subhasha@ais.ac.nz
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