“CUT out the noise and just work.”
That’s the message that Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) Commissioner, Barbara Malimali has given her staff members.
When asked by this newspaper if recent grumblings about the negativity surrounding FICAC had hindered her ability to carry out her role, she replied: “No, it hasn’t.”
Ms Malimali herself is the subject of an investigation presently being looked over by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). When asked about her thoughts on a possible Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the organisation, she said she did not know anything about this.
“I’m just doing my work; the Commission of Inquiry is none of my business.
“If it happens, it happens. For me, I just have to work. Work has to carry on. The taxpayers of Fiji are paying for us to operate so that’s what I need to do. I just need to work.”
During a function at FICAC on Wednesday this week, Ms Malimali had acknowledged her staff for carrying out their roles diligently to promote transparency and accountability.
“The people of Fiji expect much from us. Forget the noise, forget the criticism, and let us unite, let us heal and let us hope and we need to show the nation that FICAC’s part in the process is to balance the scales of justice.”
