President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalu says the establishment of four Constitutions — in 1970, 1990, 1997 and 2013 — is indicative of Fiji’s failure to form a solid foundation acceptable to the people.
Ratu Naiqama told the two-day 27th Attorney-General’s Conference in Nadi the challenge Fiji collectively faces as a nation is “to get it right this time, and to strengthen our institutions of state, to ensure that we never again go through the political disruptions that have scarred our nation”.
“Are we merely managing the present, or are we actively building a Fiji that our children will one day be proud to inherit,” he said, adding that the conference “is a moment to pause, to reflect, and to analyse with clarity the issues that lie at the heart of our country’s future”.
Ratu Naiqama said the Truth and Reconciliation Commission offered the opportunity “to listen to each other, learn and come back together to rebuild the nation”.
“We must get it right, especially for the future of our generations.
“In reviewing the conference program, I note that it is both comprehensive and strategic to deal with the key challenges of our time.
“The conference program requires you to review the structures that underpin the functioning of our state.”
On the electoral system and national institutions, Ratu Naiqama said the conference’s first session focusses on “the design of the system, which underpins democratic legitimacy”.
“The recent advisory opinion of the Supreme Court clarified the process by which the 2013 Constitution may be amended.
“This clarity provides a principal pathway for Fiji to consider constitutional reform within a lawful and transparent framework and as we consider constitutional reform, we must be guided by a fundamental truth that a constitution must be made by the people, for the people.
He said this recognition that sovereignty resides with the people requires open, inclusive, and nationwide dialogue.
