Whistleblower pieces together HR Chief Dismissal to Scandal

The heat is on at the helm of a State-owned enterprise, where a senior executive lost his job after an unauthorised transfer of $15,000 to its terminated chief executive officer (CEO).

A whistleblower at the country’s largest mail provider, Post Fiji Limited, brought to light a scandalous act by its former CEO – who is in court – and now-dismissed head of Human Resources, Ashish Chand.

In a letter obtained by Fiji Sun, Mr Chand was ‘summarily dismissed’ from his post on August 29, 2023.

The CEO was allegedly paid a relocation allowance of $15,000 when he moved from Australia to Fiji in 2019, which the former Post Fiji board chairman, Lawrence Tikaram, was not entirely aware of.

And attempts to sweep the issue under the carpet were unsuccessful when an independent investigation was conducted, said the letter.

The Independent Disciplinary Committee (DC) deliberated on the case on August 10, 2023 after a thorough audit of the relevant documents.

It included the payment voucher, CEO’s employment contract and other correspondences related to the investigation.

During the auditing process, Mr Tikaram, in a written clarification, allegedly confirmed that the relocation allowance was only for the exit of the contract.

The CEO was not eligible because he was employed by another company when he applied for the job.

In response, the audit team allegedly said there was a slight chance of the CEO’s contract being renewed in PNG and in Nauru due to the short term of his employment.

It was stated in the letter that Mr Chand showed lack of transparency.

“The committee has found you guilty,” was stated in the letter.

It added that proper approval should have been sought from the board chairman prior to the payment process even though it was part of his employment package.

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