Do not use the RFMF to achieve your own political ambitions - Tikoduadua

Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration, Pio Tikoduadua has called on some Fijians not to use the Republic of Fiji Military Forces as a platform to achieve their own political ambitions, which they could not achieve by coming through the gates.

While contributing to the 2023/2024 National Budget debate in Parliament, Tikoduadua says that it’s unfortunate that since the outcome of the 2022 general elections, some people, including politicians who had failed to earn power legitimately at the polls, have continually attempted to de-stabilize our beloved Fiji.

He says it is the rule of law they do not want to respect, and they continually incite and propagate for the RFMF to take power, to essentially remove the elected government of the people, abusing constitutional provisions to support their ambitions to take power at any cost.

Tikoduadua has assured Fijians that the security of the nation is the government’s responsibility and concern.

Tikoduadua says the country's biggest challenge and threat to security is climate change.

He adds the attention of the Western world and the world at large is on Ukraine, and the military build-up in the Taiwan Strait in the Sea of Japan to the South-China Sea is diverting not only the attention of our plight as small island states but also taking away billions of dollars promised in climate mitigation and climate adaptation funds.

The Minister highlighted that this budget will set Fiji on the path of recovery and progress.

Tikoduadua says for his Ministry to advance its security strategic stance and consolidate the execution of its mandated law, it requires the appropriate budgetary resources to the headquarters and its line agencies and institutions.

The Minister also responded to the Leader of Opposition's statement in parliament in regards to the People’s Charter as the basis for the FijiFirst Government’s National Development Plan.

He says in his view, the FijiFirst Government had completely disregarded the work of the National Council for Building a Better Fiji, whose recommendations played a significant part in the Yash Ghai Draft constitution.

He further says the Co-Chair of the NCBBF, the late Archbishop Petero Mataca, wrote to the Government to note his concern that the recommendation of the NCBBF, the People’s Charter and the State of the Nation report were not considered fully in the formulation of the 2013 Constitution.

Tikoduadua says the basis of the 2013 Constitution was a document called the Strategic Framework for Change that was authored by the General Secretary of the FijiFirst Party, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.