Efforts are now underway to finally implement the Information Act 2018 in the country, and to also have an Accountability and Transparency Commission and Code of Conduct which was stated in the 2013 Constitution from when it was promulgated but never established.
Fiji adopted its Information Act in 2018 but the law has not really come into effect, in part because the Accountability and Transparency Commission, which serves as the oversight body for the law, has not yet been appointed.
A two day workshop by UNESCO in partnership with the Fiji Council of Social Services aims to raise awareness among selected stakeholders – including government, senior civil servants, media, information officers, and CSOs – about how the Act works and how to make and process requests for information.
Fiji Law Reform Commission Director, Raijeli Tuivaga says Attorney General, Graham Leung has spoken to the Commission, and their aim is to review the Information Act 2018 and establish the Accountability and Transparency Commission and also have a law on the Code of Conduct which is long overdue.
Tuivaga says citizens should have equal rights to information, and they will have full consultations before they take the reviewed laws back.
She says the Attorney General’s timeline is the first quarter of next year.
Marius Lukosiunas from UNESCO Headquarters Section for Universal Access to Information, says they are here to assist Fiji in putting together a right to information law.
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