THE dismissal of Attorney-General Graham Leung should serve as a wake-up call for all senior government officials to uphold the highest standards of legal and ethical conduct, says veteran civil servant Jioji Kotobalavu.
Speaking to The Fiji Times following the Prime Minister’s decision to sack Mr Leung based on findings of the Commission of Inquiry, Mr Kotobalavu said it was a “salutary lesson” that highlighted the need for civil service leadership to fully understand their constitutional powers and legal limits.
“This is why I, at the invitation of the Public Service Commission, have been talking to permanent secretaries to advise them on how they should exercise their responsibility and powers, because under the 2013 Constitution, they have been given increased responsibility,” he said.
Mr Kotobalavu said the 2013 Constitution significantly decentralised the authority once held by the Public Service Commission.
“The PSs have become the employers of staff in their ministry or department – no longer the PSC.”
He warned that the Constitution had “politicised the civil service”, requiring PSs to now obtain ministerial concurrence on decisions relating to appointments, discipline and transfers.
“Now the minister has a say – they are given a say in the Constitution.”
Given this shift, Mr Kotobalavu said senior administrators must have a strong grasp of the law.
“They must know administrative law and employment law. First, the nature of their power, the source of their power, the limit of their power of decision making, and second, the rights of those people adversely affected by that decision he makes.”
He said Section 16 of the Constitution made it clear that decisions must be made with “full awareness of the rights of a person… because under the law, that person also has rights. The right of appeal.”
Reflecting on Mr Leung’s termination, Mr Kotobalavu said: “They must do so with the highest standard of professional integrity. Make your decision strictly according to law and the courts have also emphasised always be conscious all the time that when you make a decision there is public interest.”
