No witch-hunt for political opponents of anybody – FICAC Commissioner

I'm not going to do any witch-hunt on political opponents of anybody.

This was highlighted by FICAC Commissioner Barbara Malimali while responding to a question from Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence member Rinesh Sharma on how FICAC can ensure that it does not become a tool to hunt down political figures and opponents.

The FICAC team made submissions today on their 2018-2020 Annual Reports to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.

Malimali says they are free from that sort of political influence.

She says they have heard those sentiments in the media and the public, but they have a process in place.

The Commissioner says she has a great team that keeps her accountable and is not afraid to correct her if she is heading in the wrong direction.

She adds they are aware of how they were viewed as being weaponized against political opponents, and she would like that view to disappear over the next period.

Malimali says they hope, with the support of the members of Parliament and the members of the public, that they will give them the support to help them carry out their mandate as per the Constitution and Act so they can be truly free, fair, and independent of any sort of influence.

Meanwhile, FICAC Manager Legal  Laite Bokini Ratu says they receive complaints through many mediums, including in person, at their Suva, Labasa, and Lautoka offices, email, online, social media, phone, and toll-free lines.

She says every complainant is treated the same, regardless of background, regardless where the complaint is coming from.

Ratu says each complaint goes through a process of assessment, where their legal officers assess each complaint on the merit of the complaint itself.

She adds from there the complaint is either recommended for inquiry or investigation, or it is referred to a relevant authority if it's a non-corrupt complaint.

She says in terms of confidentiality, they keep each complaint and complainant's confidential.