The Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai has revealed on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan that he was getting calls from certain people after the 2022 general elections to remove certain people from some positions.
Major General Kalouniwai says these were real testing times for the RFMF.
When asked on what is his stand on those detractors trying to derail the RFMF’s standards and principles and influence the RFMF to take illegal actions against the government which could even result in him being targeted, the Commander says he will continue to follow the rule of law.
Although Major General Kalouniwai did not reveal the names of those people calling him to remove people, he says he will remain within the bounds of the law.
The Commander says his intent at the RFMF is based on the issue of trust and that is transformational leadership.
While leading the reconciliation and peace efforts within the RFMF, Major General Kalouniwai says as a leader of the military, he believes transformational leadership is very important because it makes you lead by example and build genuine trust and allows you to have that sense of unity.
He says transactional leadership has always influenced the loyalty of individuals not just within the RFMF but other organisations as well.
The Commander says when the individual realises the values, ethics and principles of the institution, they will always have the moral courage to speak out.
He says he stresses to the RFMF that every soldier has the right to be led well, and to be led in an ethical manner.
Major General Kalouniwai says this goes in line with adhering to the rule of law, and then we will not have any extraordinary action and a coup culture.
