FOUR former senior staff of the Education Ministry have filed complaints against minister Aseri Radrodro for allegedly interfering in disciplinary issues, unlawful termination of staff and abuse of powers.
The four are – former manager Performance and Discipline Unit (PDU) Senitiki Tupou; former manager Recruitment and Selection Manueli Caginitabale; former manager Appointments Taito Waradi; and former manager Establishments Kelera Bale.
Speaking to The Fiji Times, Ms Bale claimed proper procedures were bypassed in the process of their termination, including the 30-day notice requirement and paid leave balances.
She said they were terminated for questioning the reinstatement of a staff member who should have been terminated for breach of ministry protocols and procedures.
“All this started from November 2023 after Mr Radrodro brought in a lady from Parliament. She was with Parliament and she was brought into the Ministry of Education without following the proper recruitment process,” Ms Bale claimed.
“Even though we had given him advice, he kept on giving his directive that we bring her into the ministry. When she came in, she came and headed the HR (human resources department).”
She said Mr Caginitabale, Mr Waradi and herself were “forced to take our leave in November 2023 but were brought back when they reapplied for their positions after it was advertised when Mr Radrodro was dismissed by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in January 2024”.
“When we came in — in February, Mr Gavoka (deputy Prime Minister) was there. They had advertised our positions which we were acting in before going on leave. We went through the whole recruitment process again and we were the successful ones.
“PS (Selina) Kuruleca and Mr Gavoka signed and endorsed the recruitment selection report, it had to go through a five-day appeal process.
“On the fifth day of the appeal process, Mr Radrodro came back into office, and he started claiming he did not sign our recruitment selection report, so he wrote a letter to the PM.”
Ms Bale claimed that they had a bulls-eye on their backs from that day until February 24 when they received their termination letters.
Responding to questions from this newspaper, The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruptio (FICAC) confirmed the receipt of a letter of complaint from the four human resources managers “pertaining to allegations against the Honourable Minister for Education”.
“The matter is currently undergoing legal assessment, and as such, FICAC will refrain from providing any further information or comments at this time.”
When asked yesterday, Mr Radrodro said he was not aware of any complaint made against him to FICAC.
When told of the officers’ claims that they were terminated because they questioned the reinstatement of an officer, he said that “that’s an internal process, and we’ll wait for those to come up and we’ll see”.
