Mr. Aisake Taito goes on to state in the FNPF website news release dated 14^th September 2011 : 

FNPF Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Aisake Taito, said the write-back is the outcome of two major investment rehabilitation projects – the revaluation of Natadola Inter-continental Hotel and the sale of majority shares in Grand Pacific Hotel Limited. 

One must be extremely desperate to make such a claim. Is it to win back lost credibility and convince members (including pensioners) that the FNPF, CEO and Directors are doing a fantastic job in rehabilitating the troubled investments? Claiming credit where it is not due is extremely damaging to one’s credibility 

$29m (or 87%) of the $33.5m write back is related to the Natadola Intercontinental Hotel, golf course and residential development. 

• Has the residential development contributed to the write back? It is unlikely that any work has commenced that would add value. 

• To claim that investment rehabilitation has taken place in regard to the Natadola Intercontinental Hotel, we need to ask what work Mr. Aisake has performed to remedy, cure and restore to effectiveness. 

I presume that he or his subordinate would have signed a purchase order to contract the two consultants (one is not sufficient but two is a waste of money) to conduct a valuation of the hotel. If one considers that this is rehabilitation, it is a joke.  

The valuation report is a bi-annual requirement normally spelled out in most bank loan agreements. In addition, it is an International Financial Reporting Standard that requires that assets shown in financial reports are at market value. 

The valuation of a hotel is normally based on discounted cash flow analysis and capitalization analysis. The hotel has been trading for some two years and the operating results (occupancies, average room rates, food and beverage revenues and efficiency) have improved, hence increased earnings and cash flow resulting in the increased valuation of the Hotel. 

If we are to assign credit, it should be to past management and directors that have decided to invest in the hotel industry that Mr. Aisake has so often and vigorously maligned. 

Returns on this type of investment are long term. However, if Mr. Aisake really wants to get involved with rehabilitation, please role up your sleeves, progress and complete the Momi hotel development (as the asset is corroding and its value deteriorating rapidly instead of earning an income ) and the golf course and club house so that the freehold residential land can be sold. This is rehabilitation and it needs balls! 

So please stop wasting FNPF time and money on needless paid advertisements/news releases and earn back your credibility by honoring your contract with pensioners and perform some real rehabilitation work. 

By an Apolitical Dying Pensioner

Dear Mr Kodagoda and associates 

I refer to my email of 19 August 2011 to which I have not received a reply. 

For the past four to five weeks  I have been reading your full page advertisements placed in the media   and noted the comments you have made concerning the proposed FNPF Reforms.  At this point I will not make any detailed response to the points you raise, even though they are filled with contradiction and uncertainty and simply raise further questions  about  exactly what FNPF intends to do in these reforms, as your intent is far from certain, and clearly you are undecided on the way forward. 

It is good that you publish these comments so that pensioners and members are able to have an understanding of the cuts in pension   FNPF will make in implementing these reforms and also to see the confusion and uncertainty of your intent. 

Unfortunately this has become a one sided argument as whilst FNPF is able to publish its views in the media, pensioners, members and other interested parties who have a vital interest in these reforms are unable to have their views published in the same way. 

Thus I am unable to respond to your comments by taking a full page advertisement as these are being refused publication by the censors. 

This to me seems to be very unreasonable and unfair as the media is not able to publish a balanced discussion on the proposed Reforms expressing all points of view  which is the very essence of any open debate and good journalism…….….to have both sides of the argument.
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It is a moral obligation for the Society to take care of the aged and infirm. IN Australia & NZ the tax payer pays the dole. A clear subsidy.

FNPF was set up to ensure care of the people in their twilight years.

2.      FNPF says that it set the 55 as the age of retirement as the life expectancy in 1965 was 60.

Ok, then they should have adjusted the retirement age as done elsewhere. They did not do it and can still do so.

See the table below:

FIJI LIFE EXPECTANCY HISTORY

The failure to take action in time was not members’ fault. The present retirement age should be in order of 60-65.

3.      Fixed Pension & Inflation:

Since 1999, when the 25% was cut off to finally 15%, the inflation has accumulated to 70%.

See table below:

Inflation Rates Accumulated.

Year                   Rate                  Accumulation

1998                           5.7                                105.7

1999                           2.0                                107.814

2000                           1.1                                108.999

2001                           4.3                                113.68

2002                           0.8                                114.596

2003                           4.2                                119.409

2004                           2.8                                122.75

2005                           2.4                                125.699

2006                           2.5                                128.84

2007                           4.8                                135.0259

2008                           7.7                                145.422

2009                           3.7                                150.8

2010                           5.5                                159.097

2011                           7.0 (EST)                     170.23                          

 170-100 (start) = 70%.

As a result our buying power has actually already reduced to 30%. In some countries dole is subject to adjustment by inflation rate.

4.      FNPF needs to re-look itself. What is the ratio between staff to Membership? Compare this with say Singapore on whose model Fiji system works. It needs to improve return on investment and reduce its overhead.

5.      Finally, they need also to raise the contributions made by members. This will ensure that the members when they retire at lower rate in future, they can sustain themselves. In addition, they should also ensure that members do not take away their retirement benefits now.

Grey Power commentary
Thanks Mohan for this contribution. One of the things pensioners never did with respect to the FNPF benefits is calculate just how much we lost in inflation over the years since we took our pensions. Other countries such as the USA have a COLA adjustment granted annually to our pensions. If the FNPF wants to review the Act we should make submissions that our pensions from henceforth be COLA adjusted.

 Grey Power.