 |  |
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has finally shown his hand. He now wants to restructure the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, and he wants to do it fast.
On the surface, Rabuka is talking about “constitutional compliance” and tidying up FICAC’s mandate. Dig a little deeper and the timing tells a very different story.
This rush comes right when FICAC sits at the centre of multiple political scandals, disputed appointments, and unfinished investigations involving senior figures in government. It also shadows the legal fight over Barbara Malimali's removal.
Make no mistake: FICAC is not being reformed in peace time. It is being re-engineered in the middle of battle.
Every time political elites feel the heat, the instinct is the same - rearrange the system before the system can reach them.
The New Script: “Reform” as a Shield
Rabuka says FICAC may be folded more directly into the policing structure, with corruption handled separately from traffic and domestic violence work. Sounds harmless enough until you remember how power works in Fiji.
When politicians talk about “structural reform” of watchdog agencies at the very moment those agencies should be barking, the public should hear sirens, not soothing assurances.
Will this “reform”:
All perfectly legal under the right “amendment package”. All perfectly fatal to accountability.
Section 115 as a Convenient Cover
Rabuka reminds us that the Constitution requires a formal amendment process to change FICAC’s mandate.
Correct, and dangerously clever.
Once the government opens the door to constitutional amendments under the slogan of “strengthening institutions,” it can slip in control mechanisms, appointment tweaks, oversight rewiring, and sunset clauses on independence - one clause at a time.
Fiji has seen this movie before. Titles change, logos change, promises flow, and then suddenly the watchdog is on a leash.
Ask the Real Question: Why Now?
Why restructure FICAC right now, not last year, not after the next election, not after current cases finish?
Because, as the saying goes, you don’t fix the fire alarm while the house is burning, unless your real aim is to silence it.
If this government had nothing to fear from an independent anti-corruption agency, it would let the current investigations run, allow the courts to resolve the Malimali saga, and then consult publicly on reform.
Instead, we get speed, secrecy, and talking points.
A Familiar Pattern in Fiji
Every government that touches FICAC pretends to strengthen it. Each one ends up either weaponising it or neutering it depending on who is under threat.
This time is no different, only the faces have changed.
If Rabuka truly believes in accountability and transparency, then he should welcome a fully-armed FICAC, not dismantle it mid-operation.
Instead, we are watching a slow-motion political insurance policy being written in real time.
The Public Must Say It Clearly
Reform can wait.
Investigations cannot.
Finish the current probes.
Let the courts speak.
Then talk about restructuring.
Otherwise, call this what it is: a pre-emptive strike on Fiji’s anti-corruption watchdog before it bites someone important.
And Fiji has seen enough “reforms” dressed in good intentions to know exactly where that road leads.
You don’t renovate the guardhouse while thieves are still inside the compound.
If FICAC collapses into another political puppet, Fiji’s corruption fight is over.
And those who engineered the collapse must be held to account.
On the surface, Rabuka is talking about “constitutional compliance” and tidying up FICAC’s mandate. Dig a little deeper and the timing tells a very different story.
This rush comes right when FICAC sits at the centre of multiple political scandals, disputed appointments, and unfinished investigations involving senior figures in government. It also shadows the legal fight over Barbara Malimali's removal.
Make no mistake: FICAC is not being reformed in peace time. It is being re-engineered in the middle of battle.
Every time political elites feel the heat, the instinct is the same - rearrange the system before the system can reach them.
The New Script: “Reform” as a Shield
Rabuka says FICAC may be folded more directly into the policing structure, with corruption handled separately from traffic and domestic violence work. Sounds harmless enough until you remember how power works in Fiji.
When politicians talk about “structural reform” of watchdog agencies at the very moment those agencies should be barking, the public should hear sirens, not soothing assurances.
Will this “reform”:
- freeze ongoing investigations?
- disrupt cases already underway?
- mute or sideline independent prosecutors?
- replace uncomfortable leadership with obedient faces?
- absorb FICAC into a police force already answerable to Cabinet?
All perfectly legal under the right “amendment package”. All perfectly fatal to accountability.
Section 115 as a Convenient Cover
Rabuka reminds us that the Constitution requires a formal amendment process to change FICAC’s mandate.
Correct, and dangerously clever.
Once the government opens the door to constitutional amendments under the slogan of “strengthening institutions,” it can slip in control mechanisms, appointment tweaks, oversight rewiring, and sunset clauses on independence - one clause at a time.
Fiji has seen this movie before. Titles change, logos change, promises flow, and then suddenly the watchdog is on a leash.
Ask the Real Question: Why Now?
Why restructure FICAC right now, not last year, not after the next election, not after current cases finish?
Because, as the saying goes, you don’t fix the fire alarm while the house is burning, unless your real aim is to silence it.
If this government had nothing to fear from an independent anti-corruption agency, it would let the current investigations run, allow the courts to resolve the Malimali saga, and then consult publicly on reform.
Instead, we get speed, secrecy, and talking points.
A Familiar Pattern in Fiji
Every government that touches FICAC pretends to strengthen it. Each one ends up either weaponising it or neutering it depending on who is under threat.
This time is no different, only the faces have changed.
If Rabuka truly believes in accountability and transparency, then he should welcome a fully-armed FICAC, not dismantle it mid-operation.
Instead, we are watching a slow-motion political insurance policy being written in real time.
The Public Must Say It Clearly
Reform can wait.
Investigations cannot.
Finish the current probes.
Let the courts speak.
Then talk about restructuring.
Otherwise, call this what it is: a pre-emptive strike on Fiji’s anti-corruption watchdog before it bites someone important.
And Fiji has seen enough “reforms” dressed in good intentions to know exactly where that road leads.
You don’t renovate the guardhouse while thieves are still inside the compound.
If FICAC collapses into another political puppet, Fiji’s corruption fight is over.
And those who engineered the collapse must be held to account.
 |  |
