Rumours of members resigning en-masse next week are flying through the Fiji airways like a coconut in a cyclone. The leader of the party, Frank Bainimarama nominated his trust steed, the former Attorney General to the Constitutional Officers Commission. This announcement was done through a Facebook video and it was apparent the speech had been written for Bainimarama by the ex-AG. Verbal assaults were hurled onto the newly formed Rabuka led government. Bainimarama then went on to accuse the new PM of race based politics and the cause for the instability throughout Fiji.
Side note to the reader: there is not instability in Fiji. In fact it is quite the contrary. There is a smile on the face of people and they have been rejoicing since the fall of the Fiji First party.
The nomination was accepted by the authorities which subsequently saw the ex-AG lose his position as a member of parliament, as per the laws laid out in the constitution. 24-hours later, Bainimarama was back on his Facebook page to once again accuse government of harassment of civil servants, nepotism, racism and other things. Bainimarama then went on to add that he had withdrawn the nomination of his trusted steed and the ex-AG would now focus on mounting legal challenges against the new government on what it perceived are flagrant breaches of the constitution. Once again, I draw the readers attention to the side note above. Do not be swayed by what Bainimarama is saying. Fiji has never been more stable then it is right now.
The Minister for Home Affairs has quite aptly titled Bainimarama a nuisance which is a very polite way of publicly calling someone a "noisy fuckwit." The new Attorney General has advised they are going through the contents of Bainimarama's vlogs (video blogs) to determine if he has breached any laws, given the threatening nature of his speeches. It is apparent that Bainimarama is now reaching for straws and still hopeful the tide will turn in his favour. What is even more interesting at this stage is that while all of this has been happening, the former AG has not uttered any statements. In fact, the former AG is currently in Sydney (with no announcements if he is planning to return) which became even more apparent given the recent uncontrolled and uncoordinated speeches by Bainimarama. Without the former AG, Bainimarama is floundering. Badly. And, if the former AG's absence from Fiji has resulted in Bainimarama making such a spectacle of himself, one can only wonder what will happen when the former AG decides to leave the part completely, at least, this is the current buzz around the traps in Fiji.
Given the cocktail of implosions currently happening within the FFP and combined with his wife's illness, it is a small wonder that Bainimarama has gone off the rails a bit and released ill-timed, factually incorrect and fictional stories about the state of Fiji in his speeches. It is only natural that Bainimarama has enjoyed the high life and luxuries which came with the role he once held. It is only natural that he is a bit out at sea right now with no source of income and a government which is demanding he vacate the PM's residence to make way for the new one. It is only natural that extreme feelings of hate and jealousy are flowing through Bainimarama right now. This is clearly indicative by the fact that he has not, as the leader of FFP, come out publicly to acknowledge the new government, accept defeat and show diplomacy. Instead, we are seeing a man who is clearly stressed both mentally and psychologically.
It is typical for any dictator who has been thrown off his perch to behave in this manner. It is impossible for a dictator to play second fiddle to anyone, particularly when that person happens to be someone he has both a personal and professional hate for. For Fiji, it is concerning that their former PM is using the social media channels to spew forth his hates and threaten the new government. It is only a matter of time before his own party removes him from the helm. In the short period since the election, Bainimarama has managed to lose substantial followers as people walk away from the madman. It is apparent that the unchecked behaviour is going to severely tarnish the FFP reputation and likely to cost them the next election.
Added to the woes of Bainimarama, the government is commencing on an audit of all areas of expenditures, payroll, civil service and other areas which were under Bainimarama's control for the last 16 years. It is my guess that the new government is in for a shock, particularly when they look at the government ministers payroll which was being handled by an external financial company headed by the former AG's aunt. Nepotism was rife during the Bainimarama regime so for him to be saying the new government is guilty of this act is a bit of the pot and the kettle calling each other black.
Further complexities arise relating to Bainimarama's brother in law who is now the Prisons Commissioner. He was guilty of murdering someone in a drunken rage. Sentenced to prison, Bainimarama lead the charge by concocting a "yellow ribbon" campaign which would set "some" prisoners free. Guess who the "some" was? In fact the brother in law was freed to such an extent, that like a fat bird, he wobbled his way straight into the role of Commissioner of Prisons with salary worth a quarter of a million dollars. Tax payer dollars.
Bainimarama is quickly realizing that everything is crumbling around him. He knows that a number of decisions he made during his time in power will be reversed. He is very well aware that the people he has raised to lavish positions of power and the nepotism is coming to and end with the new government making it quite clear they will be taking actions where they need to be taken to set the record straight. This has become apparent with the sacking of Qorvis and the cessation of the preferential treatment given to a privately owned media outlet and the new Attorney General has gone on public record to state that more items will be exposed as the days go on.
The new government has made it apparent the 2013 constitution is the brainchild of the former AG and formulated in a way with the view the Fiji First government would rule Fiji forever.
The world built by the former PM and his former AG, has crumbled. Just as a cookie crumbles, their world has started to come down around them and the wall of illusions they had put up to deceive the people of Fiji has been broken. The truth is oozing out of it like a broken sewer main and what the people are seeing exposed stinks to high heaven. And all this from a government who, for the past 16 years, parroted on about transparency, equality for all and actions to benefit all Fijians was a farce.
Well, not all of it. Some of the things the Fiji First did ended up benefiting Fijians. The irony is that it only benefited two Fijians who held the country to ransom for 16 years while they wallowed in the money they sucked out of us through the taxes we paid them!
We must not forget this.
No comments:
Post a Comment