A veteran lawyer who is one of the biggest names in the legal profession and has been a strong supporter of the Coalition since before the last election startled Grubsheet this week with a devastating critique of the Rabuka government, describing it as “disorganised and hopeless”.
He said the Coalition was chronically unable to implement anything. “You go to them with a good idea and they say ‘good idea’ but that’s it. There is absolutely no follow-through and whatever idea you put forward dies in the minister’s office”, he said.
This PAP supporter was particularly scathing about the Coalition’s failure to arrest the activities of indigenous extremists. “You are absolutely right to keep attacking them for their racism. It is destroying confidence in Fiji and it will eventually destroy this government”, he said.
There is realistically little or nothing that can be done about the government’s implementation failings. It seems to be a chronic problem in Fiji shared with its FijiFirst predecessor. But the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, and those around him can do a great deal immediately to arrest the government’s current slide in public opinion and restore a degree of confidence in their ability to govern.
The PM has already shown resolve by terminating the ministerial appointment of Aseri Radrodro – a domestic violence abuser, a liar and a cheat. He must also put his personal feelings aside and exact the same punishment on Lynda Tabuya for her own deception and lack of judgment. The antics of both of them have been sapping confidence in the government simply because they have made a mockery of traditional standards of ministerial conduct.
Whatever the current PAP inquiry decides to do about Lynda Tabuya, she has once again demonstrated a complete lack of judgment by presiding over a raffle to raise funds for the Kadavu rugby club in which all but one of the prizes is hard liquor. She is meant to be the Minister for Social Protection and social protection doesn’t include promoting the use of alcohol. So she has comprehensively lost the plot as well as having lost her moral compass.
Yet even more important than sending Lynda Tabuya to join her lover on the back bench is the absolute imperative to remove Siromi Turaga as Attorney General and stop the current rot in the criminal justice system, which is causing mounting alarm in the legal profession.
Last October, Sitiveni Rabuka announced a cabinet reshuffle in which he removed Siromi Turaga as AG. That reshuffle was aborted by a SODELPA revolt over the simultaneous removal of Aseri Radrodro as education minister. But now that the Prime Minister has finally asserted his authority and Radrodro is gone, he must now proceed with his original plan to remove the AG.
Siromi Turaga is unfit to be the chief law officer of the state. As the aforementioned senior lawyer puts it: “The guy is mad and dangerous” – an ethnic and religious extremist who is not only racist but is demolishing the foundations of the state with his current assault on the rule of law.
Turaga is also a bald faced liar. In an astonishing article in the chronically-biased Fiji Times entitled “Turaga clears the air” the AG claimed the offices of state were “independent” when hard evidence exists that they are not. The Fiji Times is aware of this evidence but is so journalistically corrupt that it depicts unsubstantiated claims as fact. “Turaga clears the air”, my foot. It is as fetid as it ever was.
Let’s genuinely “clear the air” and set the record straight. A whole roomful of people in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and more listening in other parts of the country heard the late Acting DPP, David Toganivalu, say that he had specific instructions from both Siromi Turaga and the Acting Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, to fast-track the prosecutions of those associated with the former government. In private conversations at the same time, David Toganivalu complained to others that his independence as DPP was continually being undermined by instructions from Siromi Turaga and the Acting Chief Justice. So the AG’s comments to the Fiji Times are a lie.
But that isn’t all. There is now a chasm between the statements made by the Prime Minister at the time of Aseri Radrodro’s sacking about the importance of adhering to the Constitution and what Siromi Turaga and Salesi Temo are actually doing with their illegal appointments of John Rabuku as Acting DPP and the Supreme Court judge, Alipate Qetaki. They are illegal because the Constitution specifically forbids anyone who has been found guilty of professional misconduct by the Independent Legal Services Commissioner from holding the offices of DPP or a judge. And both Rabuku and Qetaki were found guilty by the ILSC.
How can the Prime Minister credibly profess on the one hand the absolute need to uphold the Constitution and on the other countenance unconstitutional appointments by his Attorney General and the Acting Chief Justice? Short answer. He can’t. Sitiveni Rabuka’s position is untenable and sheer logic dictates that he must correct this glaring inconsistency to have any hope of retaining his own credibility and authority with the Fijian people.
Siromi Turaga and Salesi Temo are reported to be incensed by a request by the Fiji Law Society that the Prime Minister begin the process of removing them and reverse the unconstitutional appointments of John Rabuku and Alipate Qetaki. The Acting Chief Justice is said to have been particularly enraged that the nation’s lawyers in private practice are saying that his conduct means that he can never be confirmed in the substantive position left vacant by the death of Kamal Kumar. But they are 100 per cent correct and Temo is 100 per cent wrong. Because no-one who has defied the supreme law can possibly be in charge of presiding over the administration of the judicial system in Fiji.
We cannot have a situation in which the country’s elected leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, preaches compliance with the supreme law and the Attorney General and Acting Chief Justice defy it. So they must go and go quickly if there is to be any confidence at all on the part of the Fijian people that the Prime Minister is fit to rule and the Coalition deserves the nation’s support.
The Prime Minister must use the delayed cabinet reshuffle to remove Siromi Turaga – as he planned to do four months ago – and Salesi Temo should be charged with misbehaviour for disobeying the Constitution and replaced as Acting CJ.
Both are in violation of the supreme law not only in relation to their illegal appointments but also because of their failure to convene judicial tribunals to hear the charges against the suspended Police Commissioner, Sitiveni Qiliho, and the suspended DPP, Christopher Pryde. And they must go as soon as possible to begin the process of rebuilding confidence in the rule of law.
WHAT THE PRIME MINISTER SAID WHEN HE SACKED ASERI RADRODRO (See our “When the Shoe Fits Only When It Suits”. Jan 21)
QUOTE: “The Constitution guides my actions and I remain committed to upholding its principles”.
QUOTE: “Section 95 of the Constitution is very clear on the powers of the Prime Minister to appoint and dismiss Cabinet Ministers. It is the sole prerogative of the Prime Minister”.
QUOTE: As we move forward, I urge all parties involved to conduct themselves with respect for due process and the rule of law”.
Time to be consistent, Prime Minister.
I think you should take some time off posting stuff, sit back and re-evaluate yourself thoroughly.
No chance, AG. You could always stop reading it, though thousands do every day. Now do us all a favour and bugger off.
Off the mark, Graham. Everyone who knows his writing knows the AG can’t spell!
Fiji Times writing AG clears the air actually reads…AG releases a fart and blames it on the dog.
This government is a cricus.
They are doing a great work – leave them alone
If you want to change then stand in the next election for FFP to see if people will vote for you so that you can make changes
Right now most of the indigenous Fijians are satisfied with the current Coalition Government with some of course changes in the future.
We the indigenous Fijians were not consulted about any land reforms for the last 16 years by the kleptocracy regime of which you were a supporter. So we made the changes in the last election through the ballot of the box with the support of all three Coalition partners.
So leave us alone if you are not happy – we, the majority of the indigenous Fijians are satisfied and we pray that you can report this in your Grubsheet media…
God Bless you
PDR
Your prayers are answered. You have your say. But when you own 94 per cent of the land surface, your concerns about land tenure are ridiculous.
You would do a lot better to think about what might happen if the people who pay taxes and provide you with government services decide there is no future for them in Fiji.
The iTaukei need those of other ethnicities to survive or you will be back to subsistence farming on your teiteis or singing for the tourists, with none of the services you currently take for granted.
Maybe that would suit you. But other people have equal rights under the Constitution and it is time there was more talk of the importance of “one nation” than rights for just one ethnic group.
Nowhere else in the world are people who own most of the land poor in their own country. But that is the fault of the iTaukei because you won’t utilise that land properly, not your fellow citizens, many of whom are sick of being regarded as your meal ticket and are voting with their feet.
Wake up!
O kila vakacava?
Analyzing the recent election results reveals a fragmented voting pattern among Fijians, while Indian votes exhibit greater consistency. Despite political power struggles, the average Fijian seems indifferent to these dynamics, prioritizing concerns about the rising cost of living—an issue where the current government appears to be faltering.
Amidst this, Graham’s efforts become crucial as he endeavors to enlighten ordinary Fijians on the significance of ethics and good governance in a nation. This educational initiative aims to elevate civic awareness and underscores the importance of responsible leadership.
Conversely, nationalist factions may inadvertently harm Fiji’s economic landscape. Actions that erode investor confidence, for instance, can have adverse effects. This economic fallout poses a challenge, as nationalistic approaches may be counterproductive in the pursuit of sustained economic growth.
Great work? Your government is not the peoples gov sorry to say, if you look at the number of votes the MP’s and the Ministers have in their kitty is what they probably received from their respective families and friends. Sadly the cry of the poor itaukei families were never heard yet they rejoice thinking this itaukei government will set them free. What a joke. This will only change when the whole of the itaukei of Viti realize that their lands belong to them. I don’t see them working very hard either to make use of their land either. What we see as tourists, btw we were planning to invest in agriculture, but we realized that finding labour will be difficult as the itaukei prefer picking apples overseas rather than working their farms. The Chinese and Indians and the Koreans are leading the agriculture in Fiji. Mind you, if the itaukei are planning to send them all home, i hope they start appreciating what they have else they might start eating each other if it was not for the ‘others’ who you all hate so much. All I need to say to the itaukei, get your heads outa your asses!!
Double standard laws in Fiji. Give bail to hardcore drug criminals but jail awaits if you are Indo Fijian or other minority race.
Source – Fiji Village Tueaday 09/01/24
A 22-year-old man who was found with 0.090 grams of methamphetamine in December last year will be sentenced by the Suva Magistrates Court today.
Jasvin Kumar is charged with one count of unlawful possession of illicit drugs.
On the 22nd of December last year at about 10.15pm, while manning the Delainavesi road block site, a police officer was informed that a taxi was transporting drugs.
The vehicle was stopped at the roadblock where the passenger and the driver were then taken to the Delainavesi Police Post.
Upon a body search, a zip lock bag containing white crystals was found in Kumar’s underwear
This government has lost the plot. Drunk with power they are destroying the very essence of what Fiji is about.
Scandal after scandal and racism like never before. Skilled people leaving in droves. Bad times await fijians and not so long in the future. I regret voting for these idiots and many more will regret.
Next election may be too little too late and by then this government would have eaten Fiji to the core with more than 50% of all skilled people migrated.
We voted for change but what we got was monkeys. Now we’re trying to determine which is the lesser evil, a FijiFirst dictatorship or a sex, drugs, alcohol-fuelled racist and hypocritical 3 legged power hungry coalition pulling 3 ways. God Bless us all. God Bless Fiji.
Forget about Siromi. We all knew way before that he’s got no substance in his head.
The government’s policies and bickering has made the so called professor look like an amateur. Headless and clueless and come next election, jobless.
Another week of lying lies ahead after the liars are re-set at today’s services. Isa.