The world marked Press Freedom Day yesterday, and this was the second May 3 that Fiji has passed under the Coalition Government, first being May 3, 2023. Many questions have been raised on how the Fijian media has fared in reporting on the performance of Government and why aren’t they getting all the dirt on the previous government (if it exists) to expose alleged corruption and misdeeds in the past 16 years.
The first inkling I got that we are not going to get much information on what the previous government did in terms of governance was when Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka was asked in a written question in Parliament in April 2023: “How long was the firm Vatis Communications managing the social media platforms of various ministries through the Department of Information?” Mr Rabuka replied it was between September 2019 to January 2023, with a line “Department of Information does not have the specifics for the engagement of Vatis by other ministries.”
This was the response that made me think how difficult was it to gather this information? If the information wasn’t available, why? Mr Rabuka and his Coalition Government had an opportunity in this instance to reveal what the previous government’s governance method were, but failed.
We have been told we have media freedom Fiji after the removal of the draconian Media Industry Development Act. But how has that equated to getting the juicy stuff from past 16 years onto the pages of our dailies for our readers to see and digest that indeed governance was an issue under FijiFirst.
Nothing major has been thrown the media’s way.
There is a Walesi investigation underway for almost two years.
The Minister of Finance said the Construction Implementation Unit is now disbanded.
Why and who is being held accountable for this decision? Minister for Public Works Ro Filipe Tuisawau revealed in January that the Fiji Roads Authority had many shoddy transactions based on an Auditor-General’s report that he had in his possession.
Why hasn’t that report been tabled in Parliament for the public to see? We were told Fiji owed $200million in rebates to film-makers — who signed off the rebate approvals and who are the filmmakers who are yet to be paid? These are some of the instances where a journalist gets bewildered on when will the full story be told.
Press freedom, like a phoenix, has a remarkable ability to rise from the ashes of repression, demonstrating resilience even in the most oppressive of environments.
So, I thought after the election of the new government. But my wings remain clipped.
This Coalition Government isn’t helping me anyway in flying away.
As a media practitioner, I am ready to conduct in-depth investigations into alleged corruption cases, exposing wrongdoing and holding individuals and institutions accountable.
I always thought this Coalition Government will support investigative journalism by providing access to information and facilitating co-operation with relevant authorities.
The Government knows where alleged corruption has taken place and only has to be proactive in releasing details to the public, be it in an edited version where no names are mentioned.
By not doing this, two Press Freedom Days down the line, the Coalition Government must realise the window of opportunity has been missed to highlight alleged corruption and instil investigative journalism in Fiji’s media.
Perhaps there is politics at play here and this information on alleged corruption, if any has been found, will be released at a time when the country goes to the polls in 2026 to discredit those who were in power in the past 16 years.
One significant consequence of how media freedom is affected is through the erosion of transparency and accountability in government.
We all know a free and independent media plays a crucial role in exposing corruption, abuses of power, and other wrongdoing by public officials.
There are corruption allegations against senior members in the Coalition Government and the connection of some to drug ring leaders.
There are critics out there who have questioned how the Fiji media is functioning in this era of press freedom in Fiji.
Understand this, we are doing our part in trying to get to the story, but have been shutdown as sources still fear talking to the media for fear of reprisal.
Drug peddlers are afraid to speak to us on condition of anonymity, knowing fellow drug pushers will recognise them given the small knit drug pushing business in Fiji.
This is just one example, we here at The Fiji Times have experienced.
One must accept that a declining media freedom is associated with the erosion of transparency and accountability in government.
The Coalition Government has talked about getting one going and they have another two years to do so.
If a Transparency and Accountability Commission is established it must guarantee un-restricted access to information through proper channels for the media and the public.
The commission should have a chairperson who is a champion of media freedom and a practitioner of good governance.
Only then will the commission serve its purpose to the public.
We still see signs of bosses in Government who are locking the doors on the media when they go looking for information.
Once public leaders or bureaucrats refuse to talk to the media, they are denying the Fijian public that information which the media outlet is seeking.
If this is allowed to continue and my guess is that it that will continue, then we, the Fijian media industry must prepare ourselves see the erosion of media freedom that we are so happily celebrating.
I work in the Fijian media industry and like my colleagues and all those in the Fiji media industry we are ensuring the health and stability of democracy is maintained despite the hiccups we have faced so far.
We are seeking the truth by trying to investigate and report on various issues.
We are trying to act as watchdogs over government actions, ensuring transparency and accountability.
In a world filled with disinformation via social media, do salute our work.
Fijians should know we will continue to seek the truth on their behalf and act in the public interest.
- ANISH CHAND is the West Bureau Chief. The views expressed above are that of the author and not of the The Fiji Times
