The pensions the PM was talking about were entitlements under the Parliamentary Retirement Allowances Decree 1989, the Prime Minister's Pensions Act 1994, the Judges Remuneration and Emoluments Act and the Pensions Act. They were not the universal contributory pensions administered by the Fiji National Provident Fund.
Fiji Village.
An alert contributor to my earlier post on this topic pointed this out in "Comments" and I amended the post immediately. It will probably take those who rushed in to condemn the decree a while longer to correct their error -- and some, quite deliberately, will never correct it. Damage done is damage won.
The PM, however, cannot escape responsibility for allowing his vague off-the-cuff remark on pensions to be misinterpreted. He should have anticipated the misunderstanding and been more precise. He should also not have allowed the error to fester and spread for two days before correction and clarification. The inaction has played into the hands of his opponents.
Readers commenting on my initial post identified statements by Leweni, Khaiyum and the PM, all made in the last few days, as publicity disasters, and all said Government is in desperate need of a good public relations officer. I agree. Cartoon: Sportszone.gif
Footnote: a reader (see Comments) said it was the journalists who reported the interview and not Bainimarama who was "vague." If so, my apologies to the PM but the main point still stands: Government must improve its public relations or risk continuing misunderstandings and loss of support, nationally and overseas. Croz
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