19 Sep 2008

Transparency International call for transparency and constructive dialogue in Fiji

1:55 pm on 19 September 2008

The chairperson of Transparency International in Fiji, Suliana Siwatibau, has called on the interim Government and other political leaders to come together in constructive dialogue.

The Fiji Times quotes Mrs Siwatibau saying Fiji and its suffering people need to come first.

She says any political posturing that delays a dialogue leading directly to elections in the shortest possible time is unacceptable.

Mrs Siwatibau says good leadership requires commitment to transparent thinking and decision making based on accountability that respected the right of the people to information on matters that affected lives.

She says Fiji was forced to accept a change of government with the promise that leadership will be corruption free with governance that recognizes ethnic equality.

But Mrs Siwatibau says we know power corrupts even the most well intentioned men and women.

She says having suffered four coups, the people deserve leadership that's transparent and sincerely accountable and that the process of democracy allows citizens to select their leaders.