Vosanibola picks up mantle from father

His father was elected to Parliament 2001 and served as Minister for Information, then Transport and Civil Aviation

Former civil servant Peceli Vosanibola is picking up the mantle from his father after being elected as a Member of Parliament from the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) in last week’s general election.

His father, Josefa Vosanibola, was elected to Parliament in 2001 and served as Minister for Information, then Transport and Civil Aviation under the then SDL government of then Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase.

In 2004 Mr Vosanibola Senior, a former school teacher, was appointed Minister for Home Affairs and served in the role until the events of 2006.

Mr Vosanibola Junior told the Fiji Sun yesterday he had no regrets about his sacrifices to be a SODELPA candidate in the 2018 General Election.

He applied for SODELPA ticket in 2014, but was not successful.

He did not lose hope, but it spurred him to try again this year.

“I thank God for choosing me and I want to thank everyone who believed in me and voted for me,” Mr Vosanibola said.

“I want to thank the SODELPA volunteers and supporters because it is not my victory, but our victory. “I want to thank the people of Lomaiviti, especially the district leaders for their support, especially giving us a place to camp while we were there during the campaign period.” Mr Vosanibola said he would revisit the communities where he had campaigned.

“In the first 100 days I am going back to the voters and the communities to thank them. I will work in the focus of SODELPA leadership and what is our role to effectively monitor the Government’s programmes and policies.

The 59-year-old from Bureta, Ovalau, worked in the Public Health Unit of the Ministry of Health for 35 years before he retired in 2014

The father-of-four said he would ensure to put his knowledge and skills to good use.

“Being a retired civil servant and I thought of taking my knowledge and skills to another level in terms of leadership and developing the country,” Mr Vosanibola said.