No women applied for Ambassador posts: Rabuka

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has revealed that no women applied for recent ambassadorial positions.

He was responding to concerns raised by the Great Council of Chiefs about the lack of female representation in diplomatic appointments.

Speaking to the media yesterday after the official opening of the FHL Tower in Suva, Mr Rabuka said the application process was open to everyone.

“The applications are open to all, there was no applicant from the ladies in the previous advertisements,” he said.

The GCC had raised concerns about the hiring of women as ambassadors to other countries.

Mr Rabuka has recently made several ambassadorial appointments, including Kemueli Naiqama for Fiji’s embassy in Japan and Ilaitia Tamata for Geneva.

Both appointees went through the selection process with the Public Service Commission in late July.

Mr Naiqama is the chief executive officer of the Fiji Bureau of Statistics, while Mr Tamata is a lawyer and former senior military officer.

The PM has also appointed Jesoni Vitusagavulu as Fiji’s Ambassador to Israel and an ambassador to Indonesia to be based in Jakarta.

There have been about 10 appointments for high commissioner and ambassador positions by the Coalition Government.

Mr Vitusagavulu previously served as Fiji's Ambassador to the United States in 2005 before being removed in 2007 by the then military regime.

The PM said all appointments were made following proper procedures through the Public Service Commission.

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