ALLEGATIONS of nepotism and abuse of power rocked the Fiji Corrections Service (FCS) last month after the Commissioner Dr Jalesi Nakarawa’s wife was appointed as a nurse practitioner for the institution.
The appointment has brought Mr Nakarawa and the nation’s correctional institution recruitment process under intense scrutiny, with questions raised about the fairness and transparency of the selection.
Amidst the controversy, FCS maintains that the selection was merit and competency-based and that there are no policies prohibiting family members of senior officials from applying.
Recruitment and selection
On October 2024, advertisements were released for vacant nurse and nurse practitioners positions
“There was an advertisement done on the newspaper with the minimum qualification required for both positions — the nurses and the nurse practitioners. That was done, and we had received a couple of applications for both of the positions,” FCS assistant commissioner Akuila Namakadre said in an interview with The Fiji Times.
Mr Namakadre has been with FCS for more than 40 years and is the acting chairman for the FCS Recruitment and Selection panel.
“We received applications from all over Fiji, and event to Cook Islands and Rotuma.
“The first process that took place, there was a short listing for elimination process. We would like to eliminate those who are not qualified. For those who were qualified, we took them through the panel interview.”
“First interview was conducted for the nurses. We made a selection and the next day was for the nurse practitioners. We had a few applicants, and I think seven were shortlisted.
“From that seven, we picked out the best three because we had an average rating on our assessment that’s based on their qualification, years of experience and their skills.
“That was the process that took place.”
The panel
Three of the four members of the panel were from outside the institution. One is a member of the Fiji Nursing Society, another is a representative from the Fiji Police Force Human Resources department, and the third was from the Fiji National University’s Human Resources department.
The panel was chaired by Mr Namakadre who was assisted by a secretary.
“Once it (assessment) was done, we did a final panel process, we made the write-up and all of the members of the panel agreed on the ratings and the average ratings for all with the top, the second and the third.
“That was done, all the members signed, and it was submitted to the commissioner for the final endorsement.”
He said the same process was accorded to the nursing position application.
Recruiting the boss’s wife
Mr Namakadre said they were not aware or made aware of Mrs Nakarawa’s intention to apply until they went through the applications received for the three nurse practitioner’s position.
He said the panel did not see any conflict of interest in including her in the application screening process because it was merit and competency-based.
“It came through with the other applicants, because we don’t want to do any discrimination for the applicants. Otherwise, we’ll be held accountable for that. If we do that, we’re liable for discriminating the person who has the right to employment.
“Even she scored the highest point in the average (average rating test), from the other two nurse practitioners. She scored the highest with her response to the questions, experience and her qualification.
“And this is the first time that something is popping up like this. Even for us, if we got an officer here and his son or daughter applies, they’re recruited on the same process if they qualify
“We recruit the best to be the best.”
Mr Namakadre said Mr Nakarawa was only made aware of Mrs Nakarawa’s application when the panel submitted the final names they had selected for the three vacant positions.
He said there are no limitations in the institution’s governing Act and policies that prohibits partner, or the family member of a Correction Officer from applying.
Governance gadgets
FCS is governed by the 2013 Constitution and the Correction Service Act 2006.
While the Correction Service Act is silent on the employment processes of officers and those joining the institution in other departments, section 130 (7) of the Constitution states that the Commissioner has the power to appoint, remove and take disciplinary actions in the Service.
Subsection 8 further entailed that the Commissioner, with the agreement of the Minister for Justice, has the authority to determine all matters pertaining to the employment of all staff in the Fiji Corrections Service, including terms and conditions of employment, and qualification requirements for appointments and process to be followed “which must be open, transparent and competitive selection process based on merit”.
“I think it’s only the mentality of the people, it’s the mentality and the mindset and the limitation of them not knowing what’s in the Act and the policies, they will jump around and point fingers.”
When asked whether there were any amendments made to Mrs Nakarawa’s contract, Mr Namakadre said all employees of the institution are treated the same.
Commissioner’s stance
Mr Nakarawa has maintained that he was not involved in his wife’s recruitment. He insists that he had advised her against applying but she had done so based on her qualifications and the merit-based recruitment process.
“A nursing practitioner is a profession; one needs to be qualified. My wife was shortlisted following interviews,” he said in an earlier interview.
FICAC investigates
A complaint was lodged with the Fiji Independence Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) whose officials turned up to FCS headquarters a few weeks ago asking specifically for files relating to the recruitment and selection process of the three nurse practitioners.
FCS hasn’t heard from them since.
“Do you think this (the complaint) is politically motivated?” we asked Mr Namakadre,.
“It can be. We can’t say much,” he replied.
There were allegations that Justice Minister Siromi Turaga had lodged the complaint but the minister told this masthead he wasn’t aware of Mrs Nakarawa’s recruitment until after the complaint was lodged with FICAC and the matter brought to him.
“But we had a good meeting on Monday (January 27); good discussion where it was made clear that there will be an investigation and he’s assured us that they will fully support and cooperate.”
And it seems Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka is trying to calm down the masses when he told a journalist from this newspaper that “we have to hear his side of the story first”, referring to Mr Nakarawa.
He further said the Constitutional Officers Commission will be looking into the matter.
Meanwhile, while all this persists, Mrs Nakarawa has taken up her new role as nurse practitioner with the Fiji Corrections Service.
