![Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. [Image: Parliament of Fiji]](https://www.fijivillage.com/news_images/139575559611dbb201671cb20367c9.jpg)
Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has today stressed that Fiji does not accept Professor Pal Ahluwalia as the Vice Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific, and will not release any grants to the USP until proper processes are followed to appoint a new VC and an independent investigation is carried out against Ahluwalia.
While speaking in parliament, Sayed-Khaiyum says they are also considering options to recommend to the Prime Minister to have a Commission of Inquiry into the USP.
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He says with the Vice Chancellor’s Office located in Samoa, it should now be the responsibility of the Samoan Government to host the office.
Sayed-Khaiyum says a KPMG Report has found 7 instances where he alleges Ahluwalia had seriously breached the authority of the Vice Chancellor. He says he refers to Ahluwalia as a former Vice Chancellor as they do not recognize what he calls the illegal appointment.
The Attorney General made allegations of mismanagement, nepotism, cronyism and fraud against Ahluwalia in parliament.
He also raised questions on a number appointments of certain individuals and says they were allegedly done in breach of processes.
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Sayed-Khaiyum says Fiji has demanded on numerous occasions that the USP Council must carry out an independent investigation on all the allegations by the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, Mahmood Khan.
Fiji is the largest contributor to USP. In 2019, Fiji paid a grant of $26.6 million which is 70.85 percent of the grants paid by the regional countries.
He says since 2014, Fiji has also contributed about $140 million to USP by way of TELS and Toppers fees.
