The President and Prime Minister should be given time to carefully consider the final report into the appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC commissioner, given its (report) size and complexity.
Commission of Inquiry (CoI) counsel Janet Mason made the comments in response to questions by The Fiji Times.
“Regarding the timing of the release of the report, the PM and President only received the final version late last week,” she said.
“So, it would be reasonable to give them some time to read it, consider it, obtain advice (if they wish to) and make some decisions about the recommendations.
“In total the report is almost 700 pages, and it contains information and analysis of some complexity.”
The final report of the CoI was submitted to the President and Prime Minister on Wednesday, May 14.
“The PM has some decisions to make regarding his advice to the president.
“He needs time to read the report, take advice, and make his decisions on what he will advise the president.
“These are important decisions and should not be made lightly. It is far better that the time be taken to make decisions carefully.”
She said she could not confirm if copies of the report may already be circulating.
“I have heard rumours that someone has a copy of the report, but I do not know if that is correct,” she said.
Although no date has been confirmed for the public release, Ms Mason noted that a redacted version was prepared in anticipation.
“The PM has said publicly that he will release it. There is no reason to believe that this will not be done.
“The CoI did provide a redacted copy of the report for public release in anticipation that it would be released.”
Ms Mason confirmed the CoI concluded its work when the final report was submitted.