Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has issued an apology to the nation following revelations that members of the Opposition were not invited to certain State functions due to actions taken by his office.
Rabuka’s comments came in response to Opposition Leader Inia Seruiratu, who raised concerns in Parliament regarding the lack of invitations for Opposition members to the traditional welcome ceremony for Indian President Droupadi Murmu held earlier this week. Seruiratu noted that this incident marked the third occasion where the Opposition was excluded from participating in significant international events hosted in Fiji.
The Prime Minister clarified that the Opposition did not choose to boycott the event, but rather, it was an oversight by the Government. He expressed his lack of awareness about the situation and emphasized that such exclusions “should not have happened.”
“I owe them (Opposition MPs), I owe the nation, an apology,” Rabuka stated. He attributed the mistake to the protocol department within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he oversees, and mentioned that someone had mistakenly followed the previous government’s practice of denying Opposition MPs access to State functions.
Rabuka assured that this issue would not recur, affirming that all legislators, including Members of Parliament from the Opposition, should be present at State occasions.