Politicising an organisation

I am writing this not as the former chief executive officer of the FRA, now a private individual. I also write as a very frustrated individual who has spent three years in Fiji working in an extremely intense and very serious environment; having to fend off those that would seek to gain for themselves by politicising an organisation that should not be politicised.

There appears to be a persistent problem of politicisation of issues and organisations that should not be politicised, as is demonstrated by opposition MP Lenora Qereqeretabua, after she distorted the interpretation of my comments in an interview, on her Facebook account. I am not singling out Ms Qereqeretabua in this, many of her peers seem to do the same on a regular basis, she is simply the latest of many who is misleading the public.

It is yet another example of having what I had said to the press, being taken out of context and used to further an ‘interest’. Everything that I meant to say in my recent interview with Fiji TV was said, and the meaning of what I said is clear if you watch the news video. There is no reason to amend, interpret or embellish – just listen to the broadcast!!

All that has been implemented in my time has been based on engineering and transportation reasoning to serve the ‘greater good’. I am fully prepared to be told that many of the initiatives introduced in my time with FRA have been reversed - I only hope that the reasons for reversal are as empirically and knowledgeably based as was the original intent.

As I said in the recent Fiji TV interview – I came to Fiji to do a job; I have no interest in making ’friends’ and I do not ‘cave-in’ to external influence; those that actually know me understand this very well. I hold integrity in the highest regard and find it disappointing that comments made by me to the media are being distorted to further a political agenda.

I also came to Fiji with no interest in politics, and no political agenda; I leave the same way. Neither the Government of the day nor the opposition parties have been a hindrance, and none has affected or influenced what I have done in any way.

Please don’t involve me in petty squabbles and attempts to gain favour by misleading the public. A politician’s time is best spent trying to help the public by telling them the unedited truth and fighting their corner, not indulging innuendo and misinformation. They deserve your respect and the confidence that they are being heard and taken seriously - I doubt they do at the moment.