The former Managing Director of Post Fiji Limited continued on the stand this afternoon after he opted to give sworn evidence.

Tevita Peni Mau and Mahendra Motibhai Patel stand trial charged with one count each of Abuse of Office where it is alleged that Mau had approved the payment of $75,000.00 for the purchase of an external Seiko Clock for Post Fiji Limited building without following proper tender procedures and Patel being the Chairman of the Post Fiji Limited Board had allowed the purchase of the Seiko Clock from Prouds, a company owned by him and that he failed to disclose his interest and relationship with the company.

Mau told the court today that he had met with the Supervising Architect Adish Naidu on 20^th March 2003 to discuss the renovation of the facade of the GPO building to match the newly renovated bottom floor. He said that the architect gave him some concepts on 24^th March 2003, which he presented in a Board Paper two days later. Mau said he was given an impression of what the building would look like after the renovations. He added that he only met to discuss the renovations and not the purchase of the clock.

The accused also said that the Manager of Property Mahendra Singh also attended the meeting and that Naidu had told him that the estimated cost of the project would be $800,000.00.

When asked about the second phase budget that was given to the Board, Mau said it included the price of the clock for an estimated price of $75,000.00.

Mau recalls that on 30^th April 2003, another meeting took place in his office with Naidu and Mahendra Singh where Mau alleges that Naidu told him he had found the clock he wanted and that there was an issue with the size. Devanesh Sharma asked his client if he had known anything about the clock prior to this meeting and Mau replied that he only found out about the Seiko clock at this meeting. Mau said he did not tell Naidu to source a Seiko clock from any particular company. Mau said that it did not matter to him where the clock was purchased from; he just wanted the project completed by the start of the South Pacific Games.

Mau also told the court that he had the authority to approve the purchase of the clock as it was below his purchasing authority level. He added that as long as the Board had approved the $800,000.00, he could spend up to the limit that the Board had approved as long as it still fell within the budget.

When asked why he did not direct his staff to negotiate a lower price for the clock from Motibhai as advised by the architect in his letter, Mau said that he approved the purchase order and wrote on a minute to the General Manager Finance “ do the needful” which he explained encompasses a variety of things.

In cross-examination FICAC Prosecutor Nawarathne Marasinghe asked the witness to show him where in the existing manuals does it state that there are exceptions or instances where the Tender Board can be by passed for purchases over $10,000.00. Mau said that he did not specifically know in which part of the manual but someone who was well versed with it could point it out.

Marasignhe then submitted that Mau had held the position of Managing Director for 10 years and had an additional 25 years of postal services experience and that he should have been well versed with the manuals that were already in existence.

Mau evaded questions by Marasinghe that the manuals contained details of the Tender Board and continued to state that in his caution interview, he was not shown the Corporate Governance Manual but a one page from this document.

The accused also stated time and time again that it was the Supervising Architect Adish Naidu that had pushed for the Seiko Clock however Marasinghe put to the witness that the concluding line in his work contract states that one of his duties was to work in the best interest of the company. Marasinghe further submitted that it would have been in the best interest of the company for him to negotiate a cheaper clock or direct one of his staff to do so.