Update: 12.35pm INTERIM Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry says the 5 December coup was not about the grab for power but about governance issues.
A report carried by RxPG News of New Dehli said Mr Chaudhry, who was in India last week, had been articulating that Fiji was heading for economic disaster.
''After the interim government was formed, I was asked to come in to manage the country's finances. I did not offer to join the government on my own,'' Mr Chaudhry told the Indian press.
According to Chaudhry, the national debt had more than doubled in the six years of the previous government and the budget deficit was ballooning.
He said in 2000, Fiji's external reserves were sufficient to cover the import bill for eight months, but by December 2006 the external reserves had come down to barely two months of imports.
''About 85 percent of the budget went into the cost of administration and servicing the external debt and corruption was endemic,'' Mr Chaudhry said.
''The economy was on the brink of collapse mainly because of negligence in economic handling,'' Mr Chaudhry said.
The international community, particularly Australia, New Zealand and the Commonwealth Secretariat were quick to condemn the overthrow of the government.
Chaudhry said: ''It was the natural reaction of democratic societies but they failed to realise that this coup was not carried out by surprise. The takeover was imminent, the army was warning for six months that unless the government changed the manner of governance, stemmed corruption, amended racial policies, amended proposed legislation, it would take over.''
He told the Indian media that the coups had been traumatic events for him, his family and the political party he represented. ''I have come to view them as part of the political process. I hope at the end of this takeover, when we return to democracy, we would have completely eradicated the culture of coups from Fiji,'' he added.
