The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM), Fiji Women’s
Crisis Centre (FWCC) and DIVA for Equality Fiji (DIVA)
express our deep disappointment and serious concerns over
the appointment of Pita Wise as Permanent Secretary for the
Ministry of Public Enterprises.
This appointment is
deeply troubling given the previous sexual harassment
allegation during Mr Wise’s tenure as Permanent Secretary
in the Office of the Prime Minister in 2024.
In 2024,
FWRM and FWCC publicly called on the Coalition Government to
withdraw Mr Wise’s nomination as Fiji’s Ambassador to
Japan. At the time, we made clear that our concern was not
about denying anyone the presumption of innocence. It was
about whether the State was taking allegations of sexual
harassment seriously, whether appropriate processes had been
followed, and whether those processes had resulted in
accountability.
Those questions remain.
Mr Wise
subsequently resigned from his position as Permanent
Secretary. Yet, two years later, he has now been appointed
to another senior Permanent Secretary position.
This
raises a fundamental question; what happened to the
complaint?
“Has the allegation been fully
investigated? Was the investigation completed following Mr
Wise’s resignation? What were the findings? Were any
recommendations made? And, most importantly, were those
findings considered before Mr Wise was appointed to another
senior position within the public service?” said Shamima
Ali, FWCC Coordinator.
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She said that the public should
not be expected to simply accept another senior appointment
while these questions remain unanswered.
The women’s
groups are particularly concerned about the apparent lack of
transparency surrounding the recruitment and appointment
process.
“Permanent Secretary positions are among
the most senior positions within Fiji’s public service.
They carry enormous responsibility, authority and influence
over public institutions, public servants and the delivery
of government policy. The public therefore has a legitimate
interest in knowing how this appointment was made, the
criteria applied, who was considered, and whether an open
and transparent recruitment process was undertaken,” said
FWRM Executive Director, Nalini Singh.
She reiterated
that if Mr Wise was directly selected, the PSC and
Government must explain why he was considered suitable for
appointment despite the 2024 sexual harassment
allegation.
For years, Fiji has invested in
strengthening its legal and policy framework to prevent
violence and harassment against women and girls. Fiji has
also ratified the International Labour Organization’s
Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment, committing to
a world of work free from violence and
harassment.
“Yet when a person who has been the
subject of a sexual harassment allegation is able to return
to a senior public service position without a clear public
account of what happened to the complaint, it risks
reinforcing precisely the culture we have been working to
dismantle. It tells women that complaints can disappear into
institutional processes. It reminds us of how sexual
violence is normalised even at the highest levels of
Government. This appointment reinforces the dangerous
perception that again, people in power can continue to be
shielded from the consequences of their own actions,” said
DIVA for Equality Co-Founder Noelene Nabulivou.
FWRM,
FWCC and DIVA for Equality call on the PSC and the
Government to demonstrate that its commitment to ending
violence and harassment against women is more than just
policy language and public statements.
If our leaders
do nothing, they will continue to foster a culture where
sexual harassment and other forms of violence is accepted
against all women and
girls.
