FREDDY Meesa was recently relived of duties as of May 4, 2017, and has classed his termination as an ‘unfair dismissal’.

Meesa exclusively told Island Sun this when the paper visited him in hospital yesterday.

The terminated Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Aaffairs told Island Sun that he was terminated on the basis of his prolonged illness having been living with diabetes under strict dieting and exercising.

Meesa exclusively added that the quotation in his termination letter stated four months of prolonged illness when he has only been hospitalised for three.

His termination he elaborated was based on an out-dated medical report before his left leg was amputated.

“My Doctor was not consulted and I was not given any warning prior to the termination and grounds of medical attention that warrant a termination based on medical grounds is on medical recommendation or unsound mind – despite my amputation that my contract does not state to warrant a dismissal, I do not have an unsound mind, this was not something I asked for,” said Meesa.

He then added that if the extra month as stated in his letter was counted when ill, it could have been when he was returning from his annual leave returning to Honiara from his home province in Temotu.

“That I would clearly blame Solomon Airlines as it was because they caused the much frustrating delay cancelling all flights on the Dash 8 and substituted flights with the Twin Otter.

“No matter how hard I tried to get myself on a flight back to Honiara other families with connecting overseas flights and children with much urgent needs to get back to town were given that chance.

“My flight could not be made from my province as everyone was literally arguing for a seat back so I had to ask my officers in Honiara to do the booking here instead.

“Because of my urgency to get back into town, my family had to resort to coming later on the ship,” said Mr Meesa.

He told Island Sun that if this was what was counted then Solomon Airlines ‘unreliable services’ should be to blame.

According to the former PS, he has never been implicated for misconduct or any fraudulent actions as he has worked hard all his time in service as a public servant in the last five years.

He also added that his dismissal is discriminatory and questioned his ethnicity being from Temotu being the possible reason to additional arms of being dismissed in what he has classed as ‘unfair and inhumane’.

On medical grounds, the PS has questioned as to why his medical situation despite being amputated at the National Referral Hospital (NRH), why his situation has been under looked by the Government to be referred to Australia for prosthesis like his other PS colleagues who have received medical treatment in Australia.

He then questioned as to why the Government has not relived other PS’s who have been implicated for corruption, manipulation, and clocking up huge phone bills and have been under investigation for so long and why his only recent amputation within three months warrants his different treatment.

A detailed explanation by the former Permanent Secretary will be stated in his letter of appeal to the Public Service Commission (PSC) that he will be filing soon and he has confirmed to take it as far as the Courts process permit.

The Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Service PS Edmund Sikua, the Ministry of Commerce, Industries, Labour and Immigration PS George Kosui were the other two PS’s who were recently relieved from duties.

Under Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, Karl Kuper, is currently the Ministry’s Acting Permanent Secretary following the dismissal of former PS Freddy Meesa.