The same rule that applies to those in power also applies to all other civil servants.

Those are the sentiments of the Citizens constitution Forum with regards to the leave payout made to the Interim Prime Minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama for 698 days of outstanding leave dating back to 1978.

In a statement, Chief Executive Reverend Akuila Yabaki, the explanation given by Interim Finance Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry shows a very poor understanding of the accountability mechanism of public finance.

RFMF Director Legal, Colonel Mohammed Aziz yesterday told FijiVillage that, as far as the Military was concerned, Bainimarama was entitled to the pay and the same applied to all military personnel depending on the circumstances surrounding their leave.

Chaudhry had earlier confirmed that the money had been given to Bainimarama and that it would have cost the Interim Administration more, if they had continued to defer it.

The leave payout totaled about $184,000.