Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) was not required under its warrant to prepare a draft Constitution Bill, but the Government appreciated the additional work undertaken by the Commission.
Speaking during constitutional consultations in Rotuma today, Mr Rabuka explained how the Commission’s report and draft Bill were subsequently reviewed and refined by Cabinet before the Government presented its proposed constitutional amendments.
“They were not required by the Commission, about the warrant, to do that, but government has been very grateful for the work, the extra work that they did to come up with a draft bill,” Mr Rabuka said.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the presence of CRC member Dr John Fatiaki, who was part of the Commission that travelled around Fiji collecting public submissions on constitutional reform.
Mr Rabuka said the Commission had completed its consultations and submitted its report to the President.
“We’re grateful that we have Dr. John Fatihaki with us, who was part of the Constitution Review Commission, that went around the country, collecting the views of the people who came forward to make their submissions.”
He explained that the President subsequently forwarded the Commission’s report to Cabinet for consideration before it could be taken to Parliament for deliberation.
According to Mr Rabuka, Cabinet then established a smaller Cabinet subcommittee to undertake further examination of the CRC report and the accompanying draft Constitution Bill.
The subcommittee was tasked with studying the Commission’s recommendations and proposed legislative provisions before Cabinet finalised the Government’s version.
“That draft bill was refined in cabinet and by the cabinet subcommittee,” Mr Rabuka said.
