The University of the South Pacific Council meets today to discuss the BDO Report which had highlighted a number of governance issues at the regional institution.
The report was compiled in 2019 by forensic accountant BDO Auckland following serious allegations by former Vice Chancellor Pal Ahluwalia of mismanagement and abuse of office at the USP.
Lionel Aingimea
Photo: Nauru Government
But since November 2019, the report had not been made public amid calls for the council to do so.
Professor Ahluwalia and his wife were forced to leave Fiji in early January after the government claimed they had both breached provisions in their visas.
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Apr 13, 2021 11:58:12 AM The University of the South Pacific Students Association claims the Council cannot meet anytime soon as Pro-Chancellor Winston Thompson hasn t done the minutes of the special meeting which took place in February. USPSA Interim Chair Lepani Naqarase said Thompson has been using delay tactics to prepare the minutes and circulate it to members. Naqarase said there is a need for council to convene a meeting as there are some serious issues the Association needed to highligted. He in a statement said the Association has written to member countries requesting them to take their plea seriously. “This is not the first time members have written to Thompson registering their disappointment in the delay from council in attending to their matters,” he said.
Apr 12, 2021 02:32:21 PM University of the South Pacific Students Association (USPSA) is calling on the Pro-Chancellor Winston Thompson to resign as it has lost confidence in his ability to lead the regional institution. USPSA has written a letter to the USP Council calling for the resignation of Thompson. The letter which is signed by interim chair Lepani Naqarase and deputy chair Viliame Naulivou seeks intervention of the Council. “We write strongly to the Council to listen to the plea of the students. We have lost confidence in Thompson and view his position as being highly motivated,” the letter stated. “He has been saying that he does things for the benefit of the University however everything that he has been doing since Pal Ahluwalia became vice-chancellor says the opposite.
Apr 12, 2021 03:04:53 PM A paper submitted by the University of the South Pacific s acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Guilio Paunga reveals Pro-Chancellor Winston Thompson was using his power as Council’s chair to take some personal vendetta against Vice-Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia. Dr Paunga submitted his paper to the Council last Friday raising several alarming issues that require them to take action against Thompson. This was revealed in the letter written by the University of the South Pacific Student Association to the Council members dated May 11, a copy of which has been obtained by FijiLive. “The members of the Council have raised concerns at several instances highlighting the fact that Thompson and Audit and Risk Committee chair Mahmood Khan have had a persona vendetta against Ahluwalia,” the Association said.