Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, the Hon Kaliopate Tavola announces the setting up of an Anti-Corruption Commission in Fiji.

TI Fiji expresses satisfaction but warns that it must be done correctly to mitigate the obvious high costs involved, given Fiji’s normally scarce resources.

Press Release No 4/05

Transparency International Fiji is most satisfied that the Government has decided to set up an Anti-Corruption Commission, as announced by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade the Hon Kaliopate Tavola in Nadi last week, because it is the proven way that corruption, bribery and extortion can be effectively confronted, as experienced and is being experienced throughout the world.

However, given the high cost of setting up a commission dedicated to fighting this scourge of society, TI Fiji hopes that the government has made the appropriate study to ascertain that the instances of alleged corruption that has taken place in this country are real and not just perceptions.

Mr Hari Pal Singh the chairman of TI Fiji said that those studies must necessarily isolate corruption, to measure the extent of its existence in Fiji, from what in reality maybe mismanagement, effects of outdated procedures and systems, and what one might call, ‘plain ineptitude on the part of public officials’.

Whilst TI Fiji welcomes the setting up of a Corruption Commission, it feels that costs could be minimised if proper studies were made to ascertain the extent to which this international problem plagues our nation. Mr Hari Pal Singh said, “Whilst we are all eager to see that corruption is eradicated from our nation, we must at the same time be very aware that the setting up of the appropriate legal framework, training its human resources (in all the watchdog agencies involved) and fighting corruption is not at all cheap and would be an added burden to our already scarce national resources.”

Set Good Standards

“Further” he said “there are many different ways to fight corruption! For instance we could follow the Singapore model which is primarily based on ‘sanctions’ or the NSW model which is about ‘prevention’. All these could be ascertained through a study or several studies, before any commission can be usefully set-up in the appropriate scale, proportionate to the extent of corruption that exists in our nation. ” Mr. Singh said.

“When we think about it much can be achieved, if for instance we brought back civic education into the school curriculum and if we nationally promoted integrity and ethical behaviour at all levels of our society, for instance by the setting up of appropriate codes of conduct, conflict of interest and ethical standard codes to cover the expected standards of behaviour in this country, with Parliament and Cabinet for instance setting the lead with good examples.

UNCAC

TI Fiji must also express its regrets that the government has decided to set up its Commission outside the scope of the United Nation Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which last week received its 29th ratification, deposited by the French government. Ninety (90) days from the receipt of the 30th ratification, which is expected any time now, this Convention would come into force, but Fiji which has not taken the first step to sign the Convention, will surely not benefit from the resources and the international network , which will be made available under UNCAC (United Nation Convention Against Corruption). UNCAC was launched in Merida (Mexico) on the 11-13 December 2003, when it received more than 90 signatories minus Fiji.

Media Contacts:
Hari Pal Singh, Chairman,
Apenisa Naigulevu
Transparency International (Fiji)

email: hari@olak.com.au
transparencyfiji@connect.com.fj
Website: www.transparencyfiji.org

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