An Analysis of Corruption in Fiji: Causes, Effects, and Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of corruption in Fiji, examining the political, economic, social, and technological aspects through a PEST analysis. It identifies key forms of corruption, including political corruption, nepotism, risky cash distribution (money laundering), and 'guarding the guards'. The report highlights the role of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) and the government's anti-corruption strategies, such as celebrating International Anti-Corruption Day. It also discusses the challenges faced, like public silence and the need for broader societal support to combat corruption effectively, referencing relevant literature and research findings to support its conclusions. The report emphasizes the importance of public awareness and collective action to address corruption and promote sustainable development in Fiji.

Running head: CORRUPTION IN FIJI
Corruption in Fiji
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note

1CORRUPTION IN FIJI
Introduction
Corruption is one of the usual unethical behaviors faced in different countries of the
world. Corruption can be practiced by different persons who are in a powerful position and use
corruption for their selfish benefit. It might vary across different kinds of activities such as briber
or cheating (Rose- Ackerman and Palifka 2016). However, there are certain countries in the
world where corruption is considered as legal. This paper will identify four different forms of
corruption with special focus on Fiji and four different ways by which it can be avoided by the
government.
About Fiji
Fiji is an archipelagic region in the Melanesia area of South Pacific Ocean. It consists of
more than 330 islands and 500 islets, which make up to a total area of 18,300 square kilometers.
This country constitutes of 868.400 members and it is ruled by a democratic government
(Dornan 2014). In order to focus into the detail of corruption taking place in Fiji and the
prominent areas of the same, a pest analysis is structured below.
Political-
 Fiji got independent in 1970
 It started facing a constitutional crisis in
2009
 Fiji got highly involved in the
operations of international society and
peacekeeping
Economic-
 The country has a GDP of 3404 billion
US$
 In terms of agriculture, GDP was
12.1%
 Industry had 20.2% GDP
 Services in the country had 67.&%

2CORRUPTION IN FIJI
 It was unable to carry out democratic
elections
 It was removed from the
commonwealth of counties in 2009
 According to UN, Fiji’s political
stability score was three out of five
(Cleaver 2017)
GDP
 The economy of Fiji was much better in
comparison to its neighboring countries
 The country has experienced an
increase in foreign direct investment or
FDI in the last decade
 Inflation was more than the economic
growth by 8.6% which more or less
equal to 2.1%
 The country had an increased import of
142% (Rahman, Naz and Singh 2016)
Social-
 Fiji had medium life expectancy rate of
71.59 years
 The country has a high literacy rate of
93%
 There is large emigration of skilled
workers from the country
 There is less average in GDP per capita
(McCarthy 2015)
Technological-
 There is lack of technological
advancement
 Agricultural productivity is improved
but not technologically sound
 It is an internationally acclaimed
tourism destination but there is no
technological development in the same
area (Naidu and Chand 2014)
Fig: PEST analysis of Fiji

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Types of corruption in Fiji
The PEST analysis of Fiji was helpful in highlighting the areas where corruption might
have taken place. A review of existing literature helped in finding out that Fiji is situated below
average in terms of their activities in global corruption measured indicators. There is poor
performance in terms of the legal policies and regulations. The major forms of corruption in Fiji
are political corruption and nepotism, however the instance of bribery among the citizens is not
specifically found. Two other forms of corruption were found to be risky distribution of cash and
guarding the guards (Zhao et al. 2017).
Political corruption: according to a research carried out by Transparency International
Fiji, it was found out that 90% of the political system in Fiji is corrupted. The research had
considered the opinions of 1024 respondents who belonged to the age group of 18 years and
over. Among the politicians who were surveyed for this research, 47% believed that the
country’s politics is affected by corruption. Again, 54% of the respondents believed that the
governments were incapable of taking necessary steps to combat corruption in Fiji (Valle-Cruz,
Sandoval-Almazan and Gil-Garcia 2016). In comparison to the political sector, the religious and
the NGOs were less corrupted. However, there was a touch of corruption in almost all the sectors
of the country.
Nepotism: According to Ratuva (2015), nepotism plays a major role in the most of the
state and business organizations where the HR managers are accountable for hiring their family
members and acquaintances. Frank Bainimarama, self- appointed and dictator PM of Fiji has
illegally appointed his unqualified and ineligible family members to different positions in the
government. There were other instances in Fiji where senior officers have appointed their young

4CORRUPTION IN FIJI
acquaintances who did not fulfill the criteria of the specific job position. It stopped the deserving
candidates from applying for those jobs and thus, the country had faced employment issues.
Risky distribution of cash or money laundering: money laundering is a major issue faced
in Fiji. It was found that the money laundering cases of Fiji were associated with terrorist
financing. There were continuous activities of getting funds from original crimes and money
launderers. In certain cases, the money launders were involved in terrorism activities, which
posed threat to the country’s security. Fiji faced negative effect of risky cash distribution in terms
of cyber crimes, online fraud and hacking of personal information stored online. The illicit funds
created were often related to the illegal business of drugs and tax elusion.
Guarding the guards: Larmour (2017) has found out in his paper the advantages and
disadvantages of the anti- corruption movements in Fiji. While reviewing the literature, there
was a doubt regarding handling of the campaign by suitable people. As it is said that the
protector becomes the prosecutor, there are several instances in Fiji, which have shed light on the
misuse of power and authority. The military officials had attempted to hold back the fourth pillar
of democracy or media in intervening into such activities. It resulted in breaking the trust of
public as they were confused. A critical question hovered in their mind regarding anti- corruption
campaign, that ‘who will guard the guardians?’
Strategies to fight against corruption
According to Walton and Dinnen (2016), it was found out that Fiji is ranked 55th among
175 least corrupted nations. It is expected that the rank will continue to be the same by the end of
2020. The government of Fiji took stern actions to stand against corruption. The interim
government came to power in the year 2006 and they implemented anti- corruption discourse as

5CORRUPTION IN FIJI
a preventive measure. The country has implemented anti- corruption strategy to focus on the
understood policy of anti- corruption documents to synchronize with the activities of anti-
corruption. In addition, the government has used the defense of multiracialism in order to
legitimize the removal of the elected government. This process has backfired and made led to an
inefficient democratic institution in the country. The negative effects were felt in terms of
decreased space in civil society along with a mute group of opponents and the media. Apart from
that, there were certain positive aspects too such as; Fiji got the opportunity to come back
gradually in the path of democracy (Wallace 2014).
To combat different acts of corruption, the Fiji Independent Commission against
Corruption (FICAC) was established in April 2007, to focus on the corruption cases in the last
decade. This commission came into practice during the International Anti Corruption Day and
highlighted the offence of bribery and abuse. This commission was responsible for pointing out
the government personnel and employees of the private and public sector. It was found out by
this commission that most of the cases of bribery were associated with the members of the public
(Zamaletdinov et al. 2016).
The government of Fiji took a step forward by celebrating international anti- corruption
day on December 9 by organizing road shows in 32 different areas of the country. It is a great
strategy in making the people aware by not exerting any additional burden. At the same time, it
is an eye- opener for all those who are involved in the act of corruption and it will be a lesson for
them. On the specific day, the commission gets an opportunity to mingle with the public and
spread awareness by handing leaflets. The public are advised to detect red flags if they find out
any kind of corruption activities taking place around them. On December 9, 2017, the theme of
anti- corruption was ‘United against Corruption for Sustainable development in Fiji’ which was

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intended to create awareness and motivate public to complaint about corruption related activities
to FICAC (Zhao et al. 2017).
Conclusion
There is a trend among the public in Fiji to follow silence strategy when they find out
about corruption activities. This is because the local people believe that maintaining silence is
the suitable way for conducting business and that is how life goes on for them. The local citizen
of Fiji believed that, in order to improve their country’s education, roads, judicial system and
infrastructure they need to stand united against corruption. FICAC also believed in the same
concept that in order to eradicate corruption from their country, they will require the support of
common people.

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References
Cleaver, J., 2017. Corruption in the Pacific-a threat to cultural identity. Pacific Journalism
Review: Te Koakoa, 23(2), pp.70-92.
Dornan, M., 2014. Reform despite politics? The political economy of power sector reform in
Fiji, 1996–2013. Energy Policy, 67, pp.703-712.
Larmour, P., 2017. Governance and reform in the South Pacific. Canberra, ACT: National
Centre for Development Studies, Research School of Pacific Studies, The Australian National
University.
McCarthy, S., 2015. The limits of civil society in militarised regimes: evidence from the Asia-
Pacific. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 69(6), pp.711-728.
Naidu, S. and Chand, A., 2014. Exploring the relationship between freedom from corruption and
business governance in the Oceania region. Quality & Quantity, 48(6), pp.3489-3509.
Rahman, M.H., Naz, R. and Singh, G., 2016. E-government prospects and challenges in
Fiji. Electronic Government, an International Journal, 12(2), pp.186-200.
Ratuva, S., 2015. The interface between affirmative action and neoliberalism: The case of
Fiji. Cultural Dynamics, 27(1), pp.135-154.
Rose-Ackerman, S. and Palifka, B.J., 2016. Corruption and government: Causes, consequences,
and reform. Cambridge university press.