Rajendra Chaudhry disputes Auditor-General's 1999 Report on his appointment as Private Secretary to the then
Prime Minister and his father Mahendra Chaudhry
"This matter has been answered before on numerous occasions. I have never had nor do I have any criminal record in Fiji nor anywhere else. I had a couple of traffic matters and these did not constitute criminal offences at any relevant time and certainly wasn't a disqualification from appointment to the civil service offence like Francis Kean. My appointment was made late August 1999 after medical and police checks but backdated to May 19, 1999 by the PSC [Public Service Commission]. Vatuloka was obviously ill-advised."- Rajendra Chaudhry, January 2016
From Fiji's Daily Post Archive, 2005:
Mahendra Chaudhry and the Politics of Corruption
By Victor Lal
"ONE of the most damaging claims in the Auditor-General's 1999 Report was the appointment of Chaudhry's son, Rajendra, as his Prime Minister father's Private Secretary without following procedures. He [Rajendra] did not undergo a medical examination nor did he produce a satisfactory police record before he took the job on 19 May 1999. 'The Prime Minister promoted his son from an administrative position with a salary of $17,034 to chief administrative officer with an annual salary of $37,478,' the Auditor-General Eroni Vatuloka highlighted. [He] said this was done without meeting requirements and as a result individuals who could have been better qualified and more competent were not given the opportunity to apply for the position.
Vatuloka said in his report that Rajendra Chaudhry was employed as private secretary although police had advised that he had 'four counts of adverse criminal record'. 'The police vetting which was not received until August 8, 1999 indicated four counts of adverse criminal record but Mr Rajendra Chaudhry was appointed on May 19, 1999.
According to the Attorney-General: 'The appointment was made without the Office of the PM establishing that he did not have a satisfactory police record'. Vatuloka said that Rajendra Chaudhry's position and two others - an executive officer and a butler to the Prime Minister Chaudhry were not advertised and applications were not received by the Permanent Secretary...Significantly, the Chaudhrys robustly defended themselves and refuted all allegations contained in the Auditor-General's Report, and now the taxpayers might be called upon to foot Rajendra Chaudhry's negligence writ to the tune of $500,000.
'As a result of their negligence, I had to endure physical torture and psychological trauma and am seeking compensation for these and related matters,' he said. On August 15, Rajendra Chaudhry announced that he was suing for half a million dollars to cover loss of superannuation, medical expenses, and loss of future earnings.
It is morally legitimate to ask on behalf of the silent majority in the country whether one has a legal right to sue for compensation, no matter how traumatic one's captivity was at the hands of a bunch of gunmen, when the very appointment and promotion was made, in the first instance, under controversial circumstances and civil service procedures were not followed in 1999. Should a retrospective criminal investigation be launched into the 1999 A-G's Report?
Or should those who were better qualified than Mahendra Chaudhry's son but were not afforded the opportunity to get a crack at the job put a counter-claim for loss of earnings? Its really half-a-million dollar question? Corruption is a term usually reserved for the office of making private gain in breach of laws and regulations nominally in force...It seems that nothing has changed in the Auditor-General's two reports - against the Chaudhrys and Qarase government. Pity the powerless citizens, and the toothless Auditor-General of Fiji" - VICTOR LAL's Opinion piece in Fiji's Daily Post, 2005
The London based Movement For Democracy in Fiji, led by
VICTOR LAL and others, gave deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry a statesman like welcome at Heathrow Airport and other venues after George Speight released him from Parliament following the failed 2000 coup, which was secretly instigated by Frank Bainimarama and other Fijian racists and ethno-nationalists!
TIE SOLIDARITY: FLP supporters welcome his release in Fiji, and Victor Lal and others welcome him at Heathrow Airport
BEFITTING OF THE OCCASION: The Movement for Democracy in Fiji had made sure London's Metropolitan Police were on hand at Heathrow to send message to Speight and the thugs that Chaudhry was still the Prime Minister; seen here is the late Dalpat Rathod, FLP's treasurer
The Chaudhry's at a fund-raising meeting in London; all London trip photos by Victor Lal
SADLY, Raymond Croxon QC, one of our leading supporters in the Movement for Democracy in Fiji, passed away in November 2014.
