Former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama’s salary rose from $89k in 2007 to $323K in 2020, a court ruling has revealed.
Financial records presented in a court ruling on September 24 have shed light on the significant increase in Mr Bainimarama’s salary over his 15-year tenure as PM.
According to official salary documentation tabled as evidence in his recent court case against the Government, Mr Bainimarama’s earnings were revealed as $88,945 from January to September 2007, $96,012.48 from September 2007 to December 2011, $230,000 from 2012 to September 2014, $328,750 from September 2014 to March 2020 and $263,000 from April 2020 to December 2022 (reflecting a 20 per cent COVID-19 pay cut)
The sharpest salary jump occurred in 2012, when his annual pay more than doubled from just over $96,000 to $230,000.
This was followed by another major increase in 2014, taking his salary to $328,750, a figure that remained in place until March 2020.
However, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Parliament approved a 20 per cent temporary reduction in ministers’ salaries, bringing Mr Bainimarama’s pay down to $263,000.
While this cut was initially intended to last until the end of 2020, no steps were taken to restore the original salary, and Mr Bainimarama continued to receive the reduced rate until his retirement in December 2022.
Testifying in the High Court in Suva recently, Mr Bainimarama admitted under cross-examination that he did not make any formal request to have the full salary reinstated.
His lawsuit against the Government, seeking more than $337,000 in unpaid gratuity and a fortnightly pension of more than $7000 was dismissed by the court last week.
