God help anyone in government now labouring under the vastly expanded powers of the restored Deputy Prime Minister, Manoa Kamikamica, who wasn’t totally supportive of him during his tussle with FICAC.
That’s the word as a wave of fear spreads through the civil service that Mr Sweet plans not only to take over from Sitiveni Rabuka as soon as it can be arranged but intends to purge those he suspects aren’t loyal to him.
The process has already started with Kamikamica going after his persecutors at FICAC by blaming them for the delay in laying charges over the Walesi affair – what he describes as “abuse of office, as far as I’m concerned” in Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum giving control of the broadcast platform and a great deal of money to his Auckland-based crony, Robert Khan.
Barely 48 hours had passed since Kamikamica’s acquittal on the charge of perjury laid by FICAC than he publicly went on the attack, questioning why the corruption watchdog had taken no action despite receiving files from his ministry a year ago.
It is being seen as a clear attempt to embarrass FICAC’s Acting Commissioner, Lavi Rokoika, as payback for pursuing him. And there is a lot more coming, if the current whispers from those who aren’t Kamikamica fans and who fear retribution are correct.
Mr Sweet’s public persona is of a beaming, avuncular, gentle giant solely intent on doing what is best for the country. Yet we have been given a fresh insight into Kamikamica that belies his carefully-crafted image of modesty – the solid gold ring with what looks like his own initials on it that he was captured sporting on his left hand as he arrived at State House for his swearing-in.
Seriously. Who in Fiji has a huge ring on his wedding finger when most people have either a modest single band or for most men, nothing at all? Easy. Someone with a very high opinion of themselves. And make no mistake. Manoa Kamikamica thinks he’s the bee’s knees, so much so that in the days since his acquittal, his agitation to replace the Prime Minister has roared back into life again.
It isn’t a question now of waiting patiently until the old man goes gracefully. Kamikamica and his supporters are reportedly spreading the world that Sitiveni Rabuka is now so debilitated by age and unable to lead that he must be replaced as a matter of urgency. And by whom ? You guessed it, Fiji. The man with the solid gold ring.
Anyone else might think that assuming the d’Hondt system isn’t changed before the election, the People’s Alliance needs the “big man” vote of Rolex Rambo – the only big man, in fact, still left standing since Frank Bainimarama was consigned to history by his prison sentence. But not ambitious Manoa.
It is a matter of historical fact that even before the 2022 election, when he was a hardly a national figure, Kamikamica and his supporters were trying to get Rabuka to stand aside for what they were casting as a “new generation” untainted by the coups of the past.
It was never going to fly. Had Kamikamica got his way, it would have been a landslide Bainimarama victory in ’22 as the PAP went into the election not with a “big man” but a relative unknown. Yet incredibly, it seems, Mr Sweet still hasn’t learnt his lesson. And he and his supporters still think that if Rabuka stands aside now, Kamikamica will storm into government with an increased majority. See what I mean? Completely deluded.
Now that he has been given control of public enterprises on top of his other portfolios, Mr Sweet has more power than he has ever wielded. Which means that anyone working under him who hasn’t always been a fan, let alone loyal during his travails in the courts, should be afraid. Very afraid. Because far from his public image as Mr Cuddly, Manoa Sweet is utterly ruthless. And Mrs Sweet is said to be even more sour.
Yet it’s all very well to have power. What anyone in politics needs to effectively wield power is judgment. And poor Manoa doesn’t have any, or not enough, as we have witnessed over and over during the term of this government.
- Believing that he was capable of beating Frank Bainimarama at the last election when the proverbial Blind Freddy could have seen that was impossible.
- Believing he could go up to FICAC and talk about his own case with Francis Puleiwai, the exiled former acting deputy commissioner, without being accused of intimidation.
- Believing that it was appropriate to talk with fellow ministers who were under FICAC investigation about their cases and allegedly offering to assist.
- Constantly boasting of multi-billion dollar projects that are coming to Fiji because of his efforts as minister that either don’t materialise or which are defective and contrary to the national interest.
- And worst of all, at least politically, supporting the unconscionable average 138 per cent increase in MP’s salaries and benefits with the preposterous statement that getting more money would make him work harder as a minister. As if he wasn’t already obliged to work hard.
Grubsheet has already opined that Manoa Kamikamica is unfit to be prime minister and we have been newly reminded why as the union push for a “living wage” of $8 an hour instead of the current $5 is being ruled out by the business community.
The main industry group says Fijian workers have already had a 115 per cent increase in the minimum wage over the past five years and the nation can’t afford more. Yet on the say-so of Manoa Kamikamica and other members of Coalition of Bling like Lynda Tabuya, our MPs gave themselves average pay rises of 138 per cent.
They presumably call that wage justice under the warped values of this government, which is enough in itself to send the Coalition packing and thwart the ambitions of Manoa “I’ll work harder if you pay me more” Kamikamica to ever be prime minister.
We need people in Fiji who lead by example, not sport solid gold rings that are ostentatious symbols of wealth when there is abject poverty all around them. I never thought I would see the day when I willed Sitiveni Rabuka to ward off a leadership challenge but he must fight to resist Manoa Kamikamica’s grab for the top.
Why? Because he embodies a “new generation” alright. But it is a generation we don’t need mainly because it is just as bad, if not worse, than the old.
What Fiji needs now is principled leadership more in the manner of Kamikamica’s late father – Josefata Kamikamica, the best prime minister Fiji never had – instead of the money grabbing, self-serving rabble that includes his gold-loving son.
The increased power Kamikamica now wields.
A man already coming after his persecutors at FICAC…
And why you won’t be seeing a “living wage” of $8 an hour because that would be a 115 per cent increase over the past five years when our politicians gave themselves average increases of 138 per cent.
Their idea of social justice.
Not a problem for Mr “I’m not an ATM” Sweet.
“Psst. Anyone seen an ATM around here?”
Another attempt by Mr And Mrs PM in waiting to purge FICAC – Walesi, Swimming Pool project, FNPF Westin project etc – they want blood of Rokoika and she will fight back.
You can’t make allegations when the FICAC investigating team haven’t done anything, maybe there is nothing in Walesi, maybe the swimming project was genuinely flawed, maybe the Westin project was wrongly costed.
FICAC will make the final call and it will be slap on Manoa’s fat face when Rokokia says no case to answer for all and then appeals Manoa’s case outcome – Manoa is more stupid than you think, he can’t understand that Rambo is seasoned operator and as the snake does, he will bite when Manoa least expects.
Rambo will come out clean when FICAC appeal his case and claim to be innocent as he invited Manoa back as DPM with open arms. I am putting my money on Rokoika to fight back and show her strength – she shouldn’t be told what to do by this clown – she has nothing to lose and curb his ignorance.
Manoa is a simple idiot who is drunk on power, along with his wife, Ann. His online supporters on Facebook—Stanley Simpson, Tanya Waqanika, Pravin Vinod Patel, Rohit Reddy, Parmesh Sharma, Anish Chand, Richard Naidu, Barbara Malimali, Div Damador, Sandeep Narayan, and others— seem to believe he can do no wrong.
We’ll wait until the government changes or Rambo returns. Either way, you’re all in trouble. Watch out for FICAC coming after you. Siti is unlikely to ever appoint anyone else as FICAC boss after feeling betrayed once before.
Manoa and Ann will be history once LR wields her influence. Don’t wake a sleeping dragon—pursuing investigations simply because Manoa demands results may only strengthen her resolve.
Aiyaz and Riyaz acted as if money was flowing from their arse holes – $123.6million to Walesi is shocking. Treating tax payers money like it was their father’s. Riyaz was paid $387,790.08 ($32,315.84 per month). Thanks to his big brother. That wasn’t enough for the greedy bastard. He also wanted a 3.0L Volkswagen Touareg valued at $207,470. This guy is a closet Islamist and a staunch devotee of the pedophile prophet. I was at a function when the Hindu Aarti was brought to him and he actually flinched. He wouldn’t take the Aarti.
Walesi is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more scams worth hundreds of millions of dollars that should be investigated.
Fiji’s only now making a shakey recovery from the havoc wrecked by the entitled Khaiyums. They must be brought to task.
Manoa ‘fake smile’ Kamikamica is as shallow as they come not to mention as greedy as a pig. An average accountant with a giant ego that he tries to hide behind a fake teddy bear persona. Hopefully the voters will bury him in the next election.
Interesting article Mr Davis – I think Manoa sounds like another Idiot who is now swinging his dick here in Australia- Ajay Amrit Bhai – remember he accused Riyaz Khaiyum of multiple crimes at FBC. Till today, Riyaz walks free because these freplous accusations has no merit. Same as idiot Charan Jeet Singh who accused FSC CEO Aiyaz Khan of embezzlement, nothing happened. Same as minister Maciu Nalumisa accusing Anees khan of LTK swimming pool blow out. Same as WAF digger scam when former election supervisor Saneem’s brother Mohammed Sareem was accused by idiotic Tuisawau.
These are people who make accusations in the guise of government protection and god will punish them one day – Fiji is still run by bullies and I am glad we migrated to Australia. I can navigate racism, slow, economy, high food prices and bad manners but I cannot tolerate such Fijian fools who think we are all stupid and they are the ultimate authority.
Keep up the great work Mr Davis and hope you are recovering well.
I am. Thank you.
OMG – is this guy for real – let justice take it course – trying to belittle FICAC Boss won’t help your cause and your friends including Charlie, Stanley, Vijay Narayan, Fred W, William Parkinson – look at todays outcome of the 9 Police officers accused of drug networking, insufficient evidence to charge so nothing happens even though they were already judged by the commissioner, PM and social media.
MANOA IS SIMPLY THICK AS BRICKS – that gold ring looks Indian made and probably given by an Indian for favours. Come on Ms FICAC – punch him back and make Manoa look stupid again.
Give it up Manoa – people can see what you doing – using other matters to demean Rokoika – she isn’t stupid to fall in your trap and do what you want so she looks incompetent- she will do what’s right, not what you say.
Your imbecility and denseness is amazing, even a stupid ostrich or dumb sloth can see through you. This isn’t about Walesi or other similiar cases you will soon bring up , this is about your personal grudge against Rokoika. Appeal his case Rokoika and put him on notice.
Manoa Kamikamica is trying to show that he can influence the outcome of an investigation by publically commenting on it – what a dickhead, he has probably prejudiced it.
Well done Einstein – the FICAC commissioner will not listen to your bullshit dribble and act. PS – are you still on crutches or has that disappeared now that the court appearance is over?
You are as stupid as a turkey that drowns by starring at the rain with their beaks open. At least the turkey knows it’s a turkey and dumb (no offence to animals and turkey lovers in Nakasi).
You fellas notice, as soon as Manoa’s case was over, the crutches disappeared?
Without Prejudice and AI used.
I used to work at Walesi and the communications ministry under Hon. Khaiyum. Based on what I saw while there, there was nothing criminal going on — just a very expensive project with lots of problems that eventually got finished. Walesi was created so all TV stations could share one transmission system, saving money and giving Fiji digital TV. The plan was for TV stations to pay fees to use it, with government money only covering the start-up costs.
I was closely involved for few years and never saw real wrongdoing (though I can’t speak for everything on the ministry side after I left). The one bad thing I noticed: ministers would get Walesi staff to fix their home TV service ahead of regular customers, even though they paid for it. There was waste and bad decisions, but that came from a few people not doing their jobs well — not from fraud. I think the public doesn’t understand Walesi because Hon. Khaiyum kept it closed off from media, Parliament, and other stakeholders, so people judged it based on rumors instead of facts. The board, management and staff basically did what he told them.
The auditor general’s office has always reviewed and approved Walesi’s accounts, with no fraud ever found — maybe that’s why FICAC hasn’t acted on these claims in four years, even under three different commissioners. Walesi was poorly planned from the start and ended up costing a lot. It should have had a better birth. Hon. Khaiyum should take responsibility as he was the one who started it and dictated his orders for his liking. However, everybody who had worked on the walesi project including the board chairmans, all board members, the CEOs, entire management teams, Permanent secretaries and ministry staff including myself should share some blame too since we just followed orders without pushing back. We were all scared.
Most current comments on walesi is from politically motivated people and key board warriors – these are unsubstantiated but treated as correct by most – it’s misinformation unless proven.
What’s odd and still the same : from 2023–2026, Hon. Kamikamica’s government gave Walesi around $38 million, mainly because TV stations like FBC get free transmission and Hon. Kamikamica doesnt want to charge his TV-industry friends transmission fees (Mai TV, FBC, Fiji TV). I am assuming no new infrastructure was built in that time as Walesi was totally functional — the grant just keeps the business running with no income. Nobody’s asking where that $38 million total went. Nothing has changed – people are still scared of Hon. Kamikamica and current govt and just follow what’s told.
The real problem, as I see it: every communications minister since 2016 till 2026 — including both Hon. Khaiyum and Hon. Kamikamica — let TV stations skip paying transmission fees, likely because of personal ties to those companies and people ( Riyaz, Stanley etc). That’s the actual issue here, not fraud (unless it has occurred after my departure). Furthermore, the environment of fear working for govt Ministers has extended to 20 years now.
I now work in a different field and see things from more of an outside view. I regularly meet the old Walesi staff and feel for them working in what’s become a difficult, toxic environment because of these two ministers. I hope FICAC makes a fair call. Otherwise, let’s move on and let’s develop our large tax payer investment rather than waste it. Let the Hon. Ioane Naivalurua, the new minister of communications, do this job with fresh perspective. I have met him four times in different capacity and find him very approachable. I wish him well.
Thank you Mr Graham Davis for providing me the opportunity and courage to write this piece. God Bless Fiji.
GD ….I sense a hint of frustration topped off with a garnishing of spitefulness. Why can’t the man wear what he wants? Sure it’s your opinion but there must be better things to comment on besides a persons attire!
MK is probably one the few capable politicians still left in the tank…FACT! come on mate you’re in total denial ….admit it!
“A person’s attire”? Are you kidding? It isn’t a silk shirt or a silk sulu. It’s a bloody big rock of engraved gold.
No different from the PM sporting a $150,000 gold Rolex in my “spiteful” opinion in a country where many people get $5 an hour, if they’re lucky enough to have a job at all.
Most politicians in Kamikamica’s position want to be seen as a man of the people, not a poor man’s Liberace.
You’re the one who’s in total denial, sunshine.
In my view, it will be money well worth spent for FICAC to hire well credentialed overseas counsel to appeal the decision to let this crocodile go free.
Josefata Kamikamica, the best prime minister Fiji never had ? Second best prime minister Fiji never had in my view.
The best PM Fiji never had – Savenaca Siwatibau. I had professional dealings with both of them and knew them reasonably well.
OK, second best. That’ll do me fine. Both were men of integrity and accomplishment who would never have approved of these self-serving wannabes.
Wasn’t Director-General Tupou, Isikeli Mara’s partner, in charge of digital. There are a lot of instances when people state that instructions came from Khaiyum to get things done. He was guided by his advisors including Tupou in this Walesi affair.
The status quo among the collation of the unwilling and various monkeys is to blame Aiyaz for everything that goes wrong under their watch,
It has been 4 years now – what have you eff wits come up with?
A rather feeble and desperate attempt by @truth angel to cover up the rot at Walesi.
“That’s the actual issue here, not fraud”
“let’s move on”
He sounds like Berenado Vunibobo who described the NBF scam as ‘water under the bridge’.
$138 million is not small change and the audit report has exposed multiple deeply troubling issues.
Truth Angel is actually a liar. Probably one of Aiyaz and Riyaz’s lackeys who as a former Walesi employee was sucking off their tits. Who knows it could even be one of the two brothers who were behind this fiasco which cost tax pays $134 million with very little to show for
Riyaz treated FBC like his father’s company just like Aiyaz treated the country like it belonged to his father.
A lot of people got rich from Walesi including the shadowy Robert Khan.
Manoa needs to stop being stupid. He knows FICAC lacks the resources.
What is needed is a special task team, including forensic experts from overseas, to investigate Walesi and other suspected scams allegedly committed by Aiyaz and little bro Khaiyum.
That will wipe the smirk off Aiyaz face and stuff Riyaz’s arrogance up his arse. It might help us recover some of the money and send out a strong message to not fiddle with taxpayer funds because it is happening too often.
It’s part of the reason we have such a huge and unprecedented budget deficit.
One of Khaiyum’s Legacies every tax pay is paying the price for. We have to make sure they never get away.
The rot @walesi commentary here is exactly lthe same as the content on my great friend Parmesh Sharma’s ( pussygrubber) Facebook post on Walesi two days ago – is that you Parmesh?
Great to see your contribution on Grubsheet considering you keep calling Davis an Dimwit, alcoholic, irrelevant and wannabe expert on fiji with zero knowledge on current happenings in fiji because he doesn’t live there.
Refer to your own FB posts and messages in Ann Steels posts in Jan, Feb and July this year. Caught out pussy grubber but thanks for contributing here.
Does he really? This is a serious libel and I am referring him to my lawyers, the defamation specialists Grabbit and Run.
Sharma isn’t as good a judge of political horse flesh as he is of the flesh of the fair sex. He predicted with glee when Richard Naidu threatened to sue me that I was about to get my comeuppance. Almost three years later, I am still waiting for the writ.
Why anyone would want their pussy grabbed by this oleaginous non-event is quite beyond me. Don’t tell me he does it without asking first? Surely not.
I, for one, am grateful for Walesi.
It provides 000s of Fijians with a platform that they could only dream of. Just this past few weeks I marveled at the digital free to air broadcasts of the football world cup – crappy adverts aside this is the kind of broadcast enjoyed by 1st world countries.
Your vitriolic rubbishing of Khaiyum only confirms that you have been sucking on the $5 lamb chops bones for too long.
You speak of taxpayer funds – how much tax revenue actually was used for Walesi? Anyone? Vijay?
Looks like @truth angel and ‘caught you pussy grabber’ is the same person. Some nincompoop who insanely jealous of Pramesh and using GrubSheet to spread false narratives about him.
You wouldn’t be the first to be duped by the freebies of free to air broadcast of sports. It was designed to distract from the designs of Walesi. Aiyaz and Riyaz know how easily and cheaply Fiji people can be bought. Free sports was the opium of the naive Fijians used very cunningly by the Khaiyum’s. What a great deal – they make their millions while we get to watch some sports for free! Yippee!
Now go and read the damn audit report. It might open your eyes.