Judge me by my service, I’m here to do a job – Tabuya

Minister for Information, Lynda Tabuya is urging political parties to judge her by her service, stressing that she is committed to her role and focused on delivering results.

Speaking on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan, Tabuya responded to criticism from some political parties over her appointment, saying she is determined to rebuild trust and ensure the government communicates more effectively with the people.

Tabuya says “I take responsibility, I stepped down, I apologised, and I think it's just about doing the work to rebuild trust but this isn't about me—it’s about what is needed so the government communicates better with our people in order to build trust”.

She says that politicians will always find opportunities to attack the government but emphasised the importance of prioritising accurate information.

The Minister says they hope that they continue to build on news getting out to people, rather than rumours, so that they are able to manage crisis communications and inform people more honestly and efficiently.

Tabuya highlighted the need for regular press briefings, stressing equal media access though some media outlets are not so friendly, but they need to have equal access.

When asked about how she plans to involve everyday citizens in shaping information policy, Tabuya says that the Ministry has a media monitoring unit tracking public concerns and trends.

She acknowledged the success of the Fijian Media Association Town Hall sessions, hoping to take the next one to the West to hear directly from people while holding ministries accountable in terms of what they are doing, where they are delivering and how they as the Ministry of Information are communicating that to the people.

The Minister stressed the importance of access to ministers and senior civil servants.

She says it’s going to be her job, that if media requests to meet with a minister or a civil servant, then they will work with the Ministry to ensure they attend press conferences and interviews.

Tabuya further says it’s also important that they appear on popular talkback shows in different languages so people can ask them questions directly.

She adds that if they are not present, then fake news and misinformation will fill the space and it’s their responsibility to talk to people as often as possible.