A complaint to the Vanuatu's Daily Post for the non-professionalism in producing reports to the public at there personal interest, with claim and proofs out lined shows there is two sides to every stories.
Dear Editor,
Apart from the gross injustice your paper has done to the hard and honest work carried out by the VNPF’s General Manager and her dedicated team members who have been suspended, plus the outrageous way your paper has got away (so far) with the systematic dismantling of one’s good reputation through the blatant practice of defamation of character, it is appalling to see how low your paper is prepared to stoop to engage in gutter journalism.
A good journalist checks facts and endeavours to present a balanced report. It is obvious from your report that you have been in touch with disgruntled employees only, who cannot accept that the days of using Members’ contributions for their own personal gain are now over and that being an employee of the Fund now means performing for the good of the Fund and not for the good of oneself. It is also obvious that you are collaborating with political individuals who are using misguided information about the Fund to form a platform for their political garbage in the lead up to the elections. Unfortunately, also involved are jealous individuals who cannot abide seeing a woman succeed where men have failed. You have all successfully incited unrest amongst Members, but not for long, as the truth will emerge when investigations begin, that is of course if the appointed investigators are independent and impartial.
In the meantime, allow me to present some facts that Fund Members need to take on board during this time of deception. Members, you will be alarmed at how much you have been mislead by people motivated by their own personal gain.
The VNPF’s current GM has had nothing but the best interests of the Fund’s Members and their contributions at heart. Her appointment in March 2011 coincided with the VNPF Board’s resolution to accept and implement the recommendations of a report carried out by two Australian funded consultants under the previous management. It is in the interest of the Fund’s Members that details of this report be made available as it reveals poor management practices which ultimately lead to the poor management of Members’ contributions. Apart from restructuring the organisation to allow internal functions to run more efficiently, the Australian consultants recommended action to be taken in certain areas to put an end to the mismanagement of contributions.
Some of these were that some employees of the Fund did not have the right background for the job and were able to use Members’ contributions to gain qualifications they should have had before they were hired, some employees who were away on scholarships were also on full pay, some employees were being funded by Members’ contributions to pursue studies irrelevant to the Fund eg: Tourism Studies at USP, Members’ contributions were also being used to give employees an additional 2% contribution to their VNPF fund, contributions were also being used to fund a mismanaged staff social fund and the list goes on. In short Members’ contributions were being used to provide the highest staff benefits scheme ever provided by an employer. The private sector is known for offering attractive benefits packages to attractive and retain the very best staff. I am not aware of any organisation in the private sector let alone a statutory organisation in Vanuatu or the region that offers such generous benefits, especially to employees who are very easily replaceable.
Little wonder that some employees of the Fund who cannot accept that the honeymoon is now over, have resorted to misleading Members as the till has now been closed and the management of Members’ funds are at last in safe hands. See for yourselves on the Fund’s website or in its annual report. The reforms recommended by the Australian consultants and implemented by the new GM has resulted in a growth of 11%, that is the Fund has VT14.2 billion compared to VT12.7 billion in 2010, investment income went up from VT816 million in 2010 to VT912 million in 2011 and Members were paid 5.25% in dividends in 2011 compared to 4.5% in 2010 in other words VT 658 million was paid out to Members in 2011 compared to VT510 million in 2010. So, instead of listening to the misleading information being put out by disgruntled employees, check the facts and see the results of what is now sound management practice.
As for allegations of nepotism in the hiring of staff since the new GM took over, how absurd! All you need to do is check out some of the disgruntled employees and see who they were related to under previous management. Furthermore, it was my job as the human resources consultant at the time to draw up a selection criteria for each position, vet all applicants, draw up a shortlist of candidates for interviews, interview the candidates with the GM and assist with the selection based on the criteria. Each person who was selected got through on their own merit and proven professional reputation. All recruitment steps as outlined in VNPF’s Human Resources Policies and Procedures were followed. If some of those selected came from TVL, an organisation where employees know what hard work and productivity is all about, then good luck to them as they were the best pick of the crop and, as a recognised human resources specialist, the selection of the human resources manager was my selection.
Furthermore you have stated in your paper that the GM pays herself more than any other GM of the Fund. Do you really know what you’re talking about here? Fancy publishing such incorrect rubbish. How irresponsible of you to mislead the public. If you took the time to check, as we expect journalists to do, you would discover that the GM’s salary is set by the VNPF Board and secondly if you took the time to check, you would learn that she is being paid far less than previous GMs. So get your facts right.
VNPF Members, the sooner you can avail yourselves of the facts and silence these misinformed critics and, most of all, those disgruntled employees who have been bludging off you for years by using your contributions for their own gain, and the sooner the GM and her team can get back to work, the better for you!
Veronica McCoy
Human Resources Development South Pacific
Fiji.
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