PM Rabuka: I Stand for Transparency, Law

We are answerable.

That's the strong state­ment made by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka when questioned on the implications of the findings of the Commis­sion of Inquiry (COI) on the members of his Cabinet.

As the head of the Coalition Government, Mr Rabuka said he didn't need the support of minis­ters who weren't faithful to their office.

"I need the voters, the voters who believe in what I stand for, transparency, rule of law, and no unfair use of any office," he said.

The terms of reference of the COI were to look at the process involved in the appointment of suspended Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption (FICAC) Commissioner, Barbara Malimali.

Appointment

The appointment of the FICAC Commissioner is detailed in Sec­tion 5 of the FICAC Act, which states that the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) must consult the Attorney-General before making their recommendations to the President.

Members of the JSC and the Attorney-General were subjects of the report.

Members of the JSC include the Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, who is chairperson, Chief Registrar, Tomasi Bainivalu, as secretary, and Solicitor General, Ropate Green, who was in the JSC in his capacity as the acting Perma­nent Secretary for the Ministry of Justice.

Mr Rabuka, on Friday, dis­missed Graham Leung as the Attorney-General based on the findings of the COI report.

The COI report also looked at whether there were external in­fluences involved in the appoint­ment, particularly with Mem­bers of Cabinet, who had cases filed with FICAC.

Some of these MPs include the Deputy Prime Ministers, Manoa Kamikamica and Biman Prasad, and Lynda Tabuya.

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