Shalom Tehilatti, Grace Konrote and Samu Walosio
We constantly hear remarks that we see illiberal democracy as normal as we did not live through a liberal democracy milieu. The CPI journey from 2005 and the non appearance in between, has reflected our own journeys from childhood to young adulthood, living through the COVID-19 pandemic and socio-economic challenges. Life had not been easy in 2020 - 2021, because Fiji relies on tourism and when tourists stopped coming, we struggled immensely.
Credit where it is due
We feel that we have to give credit where it is due. We may not always agree with the way things are run in Fiji but in their own fumbling way, the Fijian Government has scored 55 out of 100 in 2021. This gives it a rank of 45 out of 180 countries. This is a basis on which we can all work to increase our CPI score.
A New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Officer (We were funded by them in 2019 and continue to receive their funding through Transparency International) noted that Fiji is a country where its anti-corruption agency (set up under the provisions of UNCAC) actually works.
We feel that Fiji should not feel smug comparing our score to Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands or PNG. As the hub and the largest economy in the South Pacific, Fiji should be aspiring to emulate Australia and/or New Zealand.
Politically aware and active
We feel that we should be politically aware and be active in ensuring that democracy is nurtured and that human rights is protected. We are inspired by the statement of Ms Delia Ferreira Rubio, the Chair of Transparency International that, “Human rights are not simply a nice-to-have in the fight against corruption. Authoritarianism makes anti-corruption efforts dependent on the whims of an elite. Ensuring that civil society and the media can speak freely and hold power to account is the only sustainable route to a corruption-free society. “
Transparency International’s analysis showed that upholding human rights is crucial in the fight against corruption, with countries who violate civil liberties scoring lower on the CPI.
Transparency International noted that since 2012, 90 per cent of countries have stagnated or declined in their civil liberties score. They add that corruption undermines the ability of governments to guarantee the human rights of their citizens. This affects the delivery of public services, the dispensation of justice and the provision of safety for all. In particular, grand corruption committed by high level officials usually combines the large-scale, transnational theft of public funds with gross human rights violations.
Young people need to be anti-corruption fighters
Although many young Fijians are more interested in Uni studies and getting employed afterwards, we feel that they should be politically active and fighting to curb corruption. Our demographic group had the lowest margin of voters in the 2014 and 2018 National Parliamentary Elections.
This apathy is the kind that breeds corruption. We can change the way things are done by strengthening the integrity pillars of Parliament, the Judiciary, the Civil Service, Religious and Cultural Institutions.
There is no indication that voters in the 18-25 age group will vote in huge numbers in the 2022 Fijian National Elections despite the well-meaning efforts of the Fijian Elections Office.
Fijian CPI journey
The Fijian CPI journey from 2005 to 2021 is also a story ‘in progress’ for us at Youths for Integrity and our NGO, CLCT-Integrity Fiji. We have to model good behavior. This week we completed our organizational and project audits and it was very pleasing.
We have our work cut out for us – The CPI 2021 results for Fiji has come out and the hard work needs to be done to ensure that Fiji’s score in 2022 increases rather than decreases.
We are so thankful for the wonderful support provided to us by Board Members and Staff of Transparency International New Zealand, the TI Pacific Office and all friends and well-wishers throughout the world. It means so much to us in our fight against corruption.
