Corruption is quietly sapping the Pacific’s strength and must be confronted if the region is to achieve peace and prosperity, a regional academic warned at a Suva panel this week, issuing a blunt assessment of where progress has stalled. Dr Shailendra Singh, head of the Journalism Programme at the University of the South Pacific, told the Teieniwa Vision Anniversary Panel Discussion on Corruption that corruption acts like a “tapeworm,” feeding on the region from within and making goals such as an “ocean of peace” unattainable while it persists.
Singh used the latest Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, released earlier this month, to illustrate his point. The index put Papua New Guinea at the bottom among Pacific Island countries with a score of 26 out of 100 — 19 points below the Asia-Pacific average — while Fiji scored 55, the highest in the subregion. But Singh warned the headline figure hid worrying trends: Fiji’s score has not improved in five years, a stagnation he said amounts to a “thorn” in the nation’s progress.
“Maybe some things need to change,” Singh said, questioning whether regional declarations of intent translate into concrete action. He pointed specifically to the Teieniwa Vision itself, noting it includes clear pledges such as the right to information and whistleblower protection. “How many Pacific Island countries have passed right to information and whistleblower protection legislation? Do the words match the actions?” he asked, adding that “hardly any” have enacted these critical laws and that many bills remain stalled in slow parliamentary or administrative processes.
Singh framed the absence of legal safeguards as more than a technical failure, saying it reinforces a system in which corruption disproportionately harms the most vulnerable — women, people with disabilities, youth and the elderly. He cited regional poverty figures to underline the human stakes: roughly one in four people in the Pacific live in poverty, and about 40 percent of Pacific children are at risk of falling below the poverty line. “These are kids. We should all be very concerned about this,” he said, arguing that efforts to eliminate poverty and corruption must be pursued together.
The intervention comes amid a shifting anti-corruption landscape in Fiji that adds weight to Singh’s concerns. In late February the Fijian government signalled plans to dismantle the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka saying existing bodies such as the police and prosecution services can assume investigative roles. That proposed overhaul — alongside ongoing calls from some anti-corruption officials for reforms to asset restraint and forfeiture laws to prevent suspects from hiding assets — raises urgent questions about institutional capacity and political will at a time Singh says stronger protections and enforcement are needed.
Singh invoked international warnings about unchecked corruption, echoing former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s description of it as a “cancer” that undermines development. While he acknowledged some progress has been made, his message on the Teieniwa anniversary was clear: rhetoric must be matched by legislation, implementation and political commitment, or the region will continue to see its peace and prosperity ambitions eroded by a problem that quietly devours resources and trust.
Leave a comment