Minister for Lands Filimoni Vosarogo says there is no need for two prosecutorial bodies and a separate investigation institution for bribery and corruption should be set up to detect, investigate, and make recommendations for prosecutions or for administrative actions.
While speaking during the debate of FICAC’s consolidated review report from 2020-2021,2021-2022 and 2022-2023, Vosarogo says the power to prosecute must remain with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions as the autonomous prosecutorial centre of the country.
He says Fiji is too small for two prosecutorial bodies as the roles are repeated, funds spent in double and this is something that we cannot afford.
Vosarogo, who was a lawyer before joining politics, says they will support legislative and constitutional changes that clarify corruption investigation and the prosecution mandate, even if it means reintegrating its prosecutorial role with the constitutional role of the ODPP.
He says they will shield it from political interference and equip it to focus ruthlessly on serious corruption and those cases involving significant public funds or positions of high trust.
Opposition MP Premila Kumar is calling for the reinstatement of the Anti-Corruption Division of the Magistrates and High Court as there is a severe backlog of cases in court.
She says Acting Attorney General Siromi Turaga acted with haste, without proper consultation, serious fact-finding, and without fully understanding the consequences, dismantled the structure in 2023.
Kumar says the conviction rate has fallen sharply from 65 percent in 2020-2021 to 38 percent in 2022-2023 because of inconsistent case preparation, poor pre-trial coordination, staff turnover in the legal division, and the absence of a systematic trial readiness process.
The Opposition MP says at the same time, there are 173 matters still pending before the court while FICAC's workforce has dropped from 145 officers to 129 and its budget has been cut by around $2 million in the last financial year.
Kumar is also calling for a standalone Whistleblower Protection Act and a review of the asset recovery process.
She says that FICAC must undergo a peer review of FICAC, which is mandated under UNCAC, to assess its compliance, and is an opportunity for continuous improvement of FICAC.
Kumar says it will highlight the weak areas because it is done independently by someone from outside, and that gives a real picture of what is happening at FICAC and how it can be improved.
Opposition MP Rinesh Sharma has also raised concerns over spending priorities where FICAC purchased office equipment for the executive and Commissioner's office, worth $11,517.43 for sofa sets, coffee tables, tall lamps and a thick wood-carved cupboard.
He says the question is how government grants are distributed to these organisations to help the operations of the organisation, and yet investment or money is being going into really expensive furniture.
Sharma says the Attorney General also needs to look at how the former Commissioner had increased pay for all staff by $5,000, except her, because her contract does not allow so but the Commissioner has the sole function and power to remunerate, employ and terminate staff.
Meanwhile, Acting Attorney General Siromi Turaga says cases continue to be processed through the courts with convictions skewed across various levels of the judiciary which reflects the continued functioning of the justice system in dealing with corruption related offences.
However, he says there are major cases that the people of Fiji want to see progress to court.
He further says that during its submission to the Constitutional Review Submission, the judiciary highlighted matters relating to judicial performance, including concerns around delays in case management and time taken for the delivery of judgment.
Turaga says the issue of delay also concerns the prosecuting and probably the investigating authorities.
He says the government will continue to support efforts to strengthen the justice system to improve efficiency, timeliness, and performance outcomes.
The Acting Attorney General says the government remains committed to ensure that the institutions are independent but also effective and accountable in delivering justice as this is fundamental in the issue of trust and accountability.
He adds they will ensure the justice system remains credible, consistent, and capable of delivering outcomes that the public can trust.
