It has taken more than three weeks for the NFP stalwart, Richard “I have the means” Naidu – wearing his hat as Chair of the government’s Fiscal Review Committee – to enter the contentious public debate about the justification of MPs awarding themselves massive salary and benefits increases. And to his credit, he does so by calling for the increases to be “revisited” and for public consultation before any new package is implemented.
Yet there’s an inherent conflict at the heart of Richard Naidu’s pronouncements, supposedly on behalf of other Fiscal Review Committee members, because he is a partisan political figure while in the main, they are not. While acting as a long-time political advisor to Biman Prasad – the NFP leader, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance – Richard Naidu was handpicked by Biman Prasad to Chair the Fiscal Review Committee. So that while most of the other members can claim to be independent in that they have no obvious political affiliation (aside from SODELPA’s Viliame Takayawa), Naidu is not independent in the least.
He also seems to be chronically reluctant to declare some of the conflicts in his patchwork of interests and relationships. No-one, for instance, who doesn’t know of his longstanding support for the NFP and his role as an advisor to Biman Prasad would be aware that when he writes commentary for the Fiji Times – which also happens to be one of his firm’s clients – that he is doing so not as someone who is unaligned politically but as an active political player. He is pushing a particular barrow but doesn’t tell the ordinary reader whose barrow he is pushing.
Take, for instance, his declaration of interest at the bottom of his latest Fiji Times feature on Saturday (the link below) which slams the FijiFirst party and accuses it of having pursued a fake brand of democracy. Richard Naidu describes himself as “a Suva lawyer who watched Shortland Street once” – a reference to the well-known Kiwi TV soapie. But he doesn’t say he is closely aligned with the NFP, advises Biman Prasad and could be expected to be highly critical of FijiFirst to suit their mutual political purposes.
He also doesn’t say that because his firm provides legal advice on editorial content to the Fiji Times, that in itself raises questions about whether he can influence the paper to run articles he wants to place (like the one on the weekend) that might suit their mutual political agenda yet are hardly independent commentary. The point is that no-one is told about these interconnecting relationships so that they can understand, as they take in Naidu’s line of argument, that this is not independent commentary by a “Suva lawyer” but from someone who is politically partisan in favour of the NFP in a paper which is one of his clients.
In the interests of proper disclosure, both Naidu and the Fiji Times surely have a duty to do so. Yet this is not the only glaring conflict of interest that stalks the owner of Munro Leys – the highly profitable law firm which after years in the wilderness under FijiFirst is now a law firm of choice for the Coalition, its supporters and its various manifestations on the public teat.
To this day, Richard Naidu is still to declare and explain his conflict of interest in having chaired the government’s Fiscal Review Committee that recommended a seven-year tax holiday for Fiji Water and its billionaire owners at the Wonderful Company when Munro Leys – Naidu’s personal law firm – had long been representing Fiji Water’s interests in Fiji. In other words, Richard Naidu receives money from Fiji Water in exchange for legal advice on how to advance its interests in the country. Yet he doesn’t inform the public of that fact when he recommends to the government that his client should receive a tax holiday.
Regular Grubsheet readers will be aware that when we had the temerity to raise this conflict of interest on Facebook, Richard Naidu’s response was to send us a pre-emptory letter threatening to sue us for defamation in the New South Wales courts (where Grubsheet resides). That action has yet to commence. And neither has Richard Naidu taken the necessary action to explain himself to the Fijian people.
Why is this relevant again now? Because the Chair of the Fiscal Review Committee has produced another list of prescriptive measures the Coalition should take, including “revisiting” the parliamentary emoluments. And again he doesn’t declare his affiliation with the NFP and his close relationship with Biman Prasad, who also opposed the increases to the extent that it caused a schism in the Coalition. The Chair of the Emoluments Committee, Lynda Tabuya, publicly branded the NFP leader a “liar” and accused him of disloyalty to the Coalition by trying to do a deal with FijiFirst.
All of which raises an obvious question. Is this the Chair of the Fiscal Review Committee speaking or is it Biman Prasad – the hand in the glove of the man who advises him politically? To be clear, Grubsheet isn’t taking issue with what Richard Naidu says. On the contrary, of course the parliamentary emoluments should be revisited. But the Fijian people clearly deserve to know these interconnecting relationship – to put it crudely, who’s up who in Suva – and that simply isn’t happening.
As a former journalist and someone who is otherwise respected in the community, Richard Naidu shouldn’t have to be lectured about the importance of proper disclosure. Perhaps he will renew his threat to sue me or proceed to do so. Yet the point is that everyone knows where I’m coming from – a former supporter and consultant to the FijiFIrst government who urged voters to support the NFP at the last election – and not enough people in Fiji know where Richard Naidu is coming from.
His credibility is being stretched to breaking point. And while he boasts of “having the means” to sue me, I’m going to choro the famous Clint Eastwood line and say: “Go ahead, make my day”. Because as Chair of the Fiscal Review Committee, Richard Naidu is a public figure, not a private citizen, and is therefore subject to the same standards of accountability as any public figure.
Whatever his means and the long arm of his legal reach, Grubsheet is calling him out. And in the public interest.
———————–
Surprise, Surprise, Richard Naidu’s comments get front page coverage in Monday’s Fiji Times.
And surprise, surprise, nowhere is there any mention of his political affiliation and the possibility that he is actually speaking for the NFP and sending a message to its Coalition partners in the People’s Alliance and SODELPA.
That is certainly how it will be seen by many PAP and SODELPA supporters.
But then neither does the Fiji Sun.
Yesterday’s report from Fiji Village…
The aforementioned article by Richard Naidu in Saturday’s Fiji Times in which he lambasts FijiFirst but doesn’t declare his political affiliation with the NFP.
A news story based on this article also featured prominently on the Fiji Times front page.
Funnily enough, the same headline could well apply to Richard Naidu.
The credibility of the Fiscal Review Committee has been blown by its chair.
To create public confidence every single potential conflict of interest would have to be declared and put on public record.
This committee is recommending what happens with tax payer’s money. If a tax holiday is recommended it impacts tax payers.
Do other members of the committee even know the conflicts of interest that other members have? If they don’t, how can they be sure what they are recommending has credibility and is beyond reproach?
This is a committee that has been set up without legislative oversight meaning it is unregulated and each member holds individual liability.
If I was on that committee I would be asking myself some serious questions. The first question would be – are conflicts of interest fully declared at the outset and if a decision is being voted on does the person with the conflict recuse themselves?
GD, you never asked Richard to declare his interest when he was writing these articles few yards ago when FFP was in Government. Why now?
In fact you sang praises of him.
Everyone knows who Richard is and where his political allegiance lies, it’s stale old news and it’s non material.
Seems like whoever these days are seen to be linked to Biman or NFP or the Coalition Government is now an enemy of GD and GS and becomes a target. I do agree that the current Government needs to be held accountable and called out when they do wrong and really stupid things ( and they gave done a few silly stupid things).
It is now a known fact that you dislike the current Government which is your right to do so.
But let’s not create an issue on meaningless things such as calling out Richard for not declaring his interest when you did not have an issue with this few years ago.
He was not the Chair of the Fiscal Review Committee and he had not given a tax holiday to his client. If you can’t see that in your blind allegiance to the NFP, then you have the same lack of awareness about the need to declare conflicts of interest as the man himself.
You miss the point, his allegiance to NFP was well known prior to him being selected to Chair the Fiscal review Committee, so no need to declare that as everyone in Fiji and abroad knew that and apparently you did no know that.
You bring up a moot point, which is pointless and irreverent now.
Did you raise this issue when Richard became the Chair of the Fiscal committee? Apparently you did not , you just splitting hairs now .
Crikey. I “miss the point”? Read the first comment on this article from Legal Eagle. Qori. It is all there. Declarations of conflicts of interest are a cardinal principle the world over.
Naidu’s “allegiance to NFP was well known”. Perhaps but that is irrelevant. Was it well known that Munro Leys – a company owned by Naidu – has long represented Fiji Water? Definitely not.
That is the point and the wonder of it is that you would you raise your head again to defend the indefensible.
So called tax holiday was explained in detail reason behind it ( read the report) and it made sense. You are just parading it as a tax holiday for political point scoring.
Last point , if you are adamant that Richard and Munro has a conflict of interest, then why don’t you take this matter to the courts and let the courts make a determination.
Are you genuinely stupid or just aping stupidity? You don’t need a court judgment as to whether Richard Naidu, as Chair of the FRC, should have declared that Munro Leys was representing Fiji Water. It as obvious as a banana to a monkey at breakfast.
Perhaps you think it’s OK for billionaires to get tax breaks while ordinary Fijians suffer increases in VAT. Most Fijians don’t.
Rajiv Sharma…the good old bhosri chut of the NFP…only thing missing from anything you write is the grovel train as you pine for Jai Ram Reddy. You must be getting fresh duck curry and free whiskey every time you go for grog at Biman Prasad’s house
Correction… Inspector Callahan, not Terminator
Quite right. Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan in the 1983 film “Sudden Impact”. Duly corrected. Many thanks.
Clint Eastwood said in his movie Dirty Harry about someone – “He is s legend in his own mind”. That certainly applies to the prime minister.
It appears Fiji cannot do without a crackpot even after 37 years.
Richard Naidu should be charged for misleading parliament, one for not declaring his interest in the Fiji Water tax holiday caper, and two, for scaremongering about the size of the national debt and its consequences.
Three, In pointing an accusing finger against the mythical 100% debt to GDP ratio he down-played its cause, which was the one-off govt stimulus response to wartime-like conditions created by Covid; Four, failure to disclose that Japan, the US, the UK, Singapore and probably others, had Debt to GDP ratios in excess of 100% of GDP with no consequence whatsoever, Japan being the highest at 350% of GDP; and Five, perpetuating the myth that Fiji had run out of money which is nonsense. It reflects a complete ignorance by Richard Naidu and Biman Prasad of how the monetary system works in a modern economy where banks are the main providers of money as well as the. Central bank through normal central bank balance sheet operations.
The public and parliament have been fooled big time by these two and they should be brought to account.
I agree with every word you’ve written, GD.
The fact is, people have chosen these imbecles, knowing very well their track record from decades past. What has the PM done for Fijians in more than half a lifetime? Why is he still around? And now they are all whinging. The vast majority of Fijians are idiots, no doubts in my mind. And I am not just talking about the first nations people.
GD, Just because you say it’s a conflict of interest does not mean it is a conflict of interest. You tend to always be the judge and the jury and it’s either your way or the highway.
Calling me stupid is a reflection of your personality. why can’t you not engage in a polite debate and not make personal attacks.
You are like a jack-in-the-box or Dracula. I am not in the business of suffering fools gladly. I give up.
Water that falls from the the sky or clouds is usually called rain.
It’s not sunlight or sunshine even if a subjective observer wants to call rain as sunlight.
Some things are clear enough to not have to get the courts to decide on.
In the matter of Mr Naidu, his law firm and Fiji Water and his role as Chair of that committee – any real or perceived or potential conflict of interest in this specific matter should have been disclosed since FJWater was his client which benefitted from the recommendation of the committee. (And why should it not IF it was ethical and sound economics) After making his disclosure, the ways to manage his conflict of interest in that specific tax matter should have been demonstrated satisfactorily at the outset. Eg not voting if there was a vote in the committee to recommend the tax rebate.
It does not matter that ” everyone ” in the world knows Mr Naidu is pro NFP or that he is known to be Munro Leys with FJ Water as his client. ( However the generalisation of Everyone knowing is debatable. I didn’t know prior that he represents Fiji Water. )The conflict of interest is not a barrier to conducting his role as chair of that committee..but it had to be disclosed and managed in such a way that it did not give his client a biased preferential outcome – or perceived as such.
It was pretty obvious the conflict of interest was there. Water is Water…even if one wants to call it Sunshine.
Which makes me come to this Wonderful observation:
After I drink the contents of the Fiji Water bottle, in the empty bottle there is still Fiji Sunshine! And I had better find a good Patent and Trademark attorney to file ownership of Fiji Sunshine before The Wonderful Company gets on to this bright shiny idea! Ha ha ha
### ###
BTW While maintaining his anonymity will Mr R Sharma reveal any of his conflicting interests in relation to the relevant parties which may deter from his ability to make objective commentary, since his subjectivity has been repeatedly displayed in favour of Mr B Prasad and Mr Naidu.
I add that I respect anyone who in debate plays the ball and not the man and Sharma does display some of this virtue unless it is anything to do with the AG from the Fiji First party.
Hello Rajiv,
Your being labeled stupid is not because you left GD off your Christmas dinner list, I assure you. It’s a tag quite a few of us feel is duly deserved. Here are some reasons why. 1) Your reasoning is that because Dick Naidu’s political leaning with NFP was “ well known”, it did not need declaring. Well, in case you acquired a degree by dollar, “well known” is neither a measurable metric nor an association with a legal standing. Secondly, when this nodding acquaintance with due process of yours is called out, you like to cry victim. Third, using “ moot” and “irrelevant” constitute homoousios (I’ll grant you a minute’s dictionary break here). You sound like you’re either functionally illiterate or mesmerised by Baimaan’s questionable brilliance, which are inherent hazards in an increasingly enlightened world. I suggest sticking to serving Baimaan his daily grog and not worrying about fighting his battles. He has enough “educated idiots” for that.
Samjha chutiya?
I heard that during the 1987 coup, Richard was beaten up by the Sitiveni and anti-Indian supporters.
Not beaten up but a glancing blow from a war club that grazed his cranium . A frightening moment for him but he managed to get away from the lovo lit up in front of the government buildings.
Yes, the prominent lawyer was run out of the country by Rambo. Now he is a masipolo. How circumstances change when you have your hands in the till and the snout in the trough! People forget the past and the honesty, integrity and professionalism go out the window. Maybe he is a masipolo now because Rambo has apologised? Rambo “is a changed man” as we all know. Just ask Biman.
To me it tells one a lot about one’s character.
Flaunting his position of privilege dear ol Richie!
He picks and chooses what he stands for and what he stands by …
And at every available opportunity he never misses to dish it out to ffp, in particular his sheer dislike for ASK…
No objective and neutral lens expected of this guy … self-serving as always
The simple point here is: you cannot in a public capacity recommend a benefit to a party that is also your client in a private capacity, unless, you have fully disclosed this clear conflict of interest.
To fail to make full disclosure would be a gross error of judgement and would be foolish.
A lawyer of Richard’s experience knows this and there us zero chance in my view that the committee he is part of is fully aware of his private interest and there’s no way as chair he was part of a decision to recommend a tax holiday or otherwise preferential treatment.
Richard has spent years pointing out the errors in governance in others and so there is zero chance he has missed this.
Dear Fool Me Twice,
Appreciate the comparative Debt to GDP analysis.
We look forward to more financial analysis comments (via GS?) of Fiji’s position in the global economy.
There are a lot of things going on in the economy at different levels that Richard Naidu and Biman Prasad are blind to.
They wrongly assume that what happens at the local level, in households and firms, also happen at the govt level, and what happens at govt levels also is replicated at the higher national level. This is called a fallacy of composition.
The brand of economics they follow failed to predict the 2008 General Financial Crisis. It prompted the late Queen Elizabeth of England to lament in a speech, “Why didn’t anyone see it coming?”
Not even the World Bank or the IMF, the US Federal Reserve or the OECD that Richard and Biman take their queue from , saw it coming. Yet there were other forecasters, outside the mainstream, who correctly predicted it.
Govt debt that Richard and Biman harp about did not cause the GFC. It was private debt, through mainly sub prime mortgages.
But the text book economics that they follow blindly have nothing to say about private credit, the role of banks and their effect on the economy.
This is why they simplistically impose an austerity solution on Fiji that makes life tough for private businesses, enrich the top 1% and force the people of Fiji to migrate in search of greener pastures.
These two will provide relief to their friends as Lynda Tabuya’s revealed about Biman and Richard granting tax relief to his client, Fiji Water, while the rest of the public suffer austerity.
Nothing will change with these two in the driving seat.
Rajiv Sharma describes the tax incentive to Fiji Water as a “so called tax holiday” paraded by G Davis as such for political point scoring. So what else can it be called Rajiv?
The 2023 Fiscal review committee report dated 31 May 2023 called the tax incentives as such: A tax holiday – for a defined period.
It’s a common phrase in the area of tax policies language not just in Fiji.
See page 60 of this report.
Chapter 4 section 63 (a).
To make your NFP friends look better would you like it relabeled “a well earned tax break from a grateful Fiji” or similar!
It looks like NFP Biman, R Naidu and anyone against Fiji First for whatever reason, can do no wrong, even when they are wrong, in the so called Rajiv Sharma’s one eyed mind.
Can you imagine the US government saying to a Fiji company please come and set up your business here, extract our resources and make billions and also you can have a tax holiday?
Congratulations Fiji, you’ve been duped!!!
If people who are being paid by the billionaire but don’t tell you that and then tell you – actually this is a good deal for Fiji… do you believe them?
It’s like the manager of the turkey farm telling the turkeys Christmas is fantastic.
Wake up Fiji
Bee-man Prasad sure has his guy working in favor of him.