Ghoose

grease in Fiji

From VIJENDRA KUMAR in Suva This seems to be the international year of corruption. While the shock waves of the Lockheed scandal continue to shake powerful states and men, a home-brewed mini-scandal has created quite a sensation in Fiji.

It all started when the Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, asked for the resignation of his Minister of Commerce, Industry and Co-operatives, Mr M. T.

Khan, after receiving allegations against him which euphemistically described some of his actions as being “incompatible with his position as a government minister”.

While the investigation was continuing, events took another dramatic turn when Mr Falvey, in a speech in the Senate, caused a sensation by saying that corrup tion was far more prevalent in the govern ment than he had ever imagined. It was a curious statement, particularly coming from a distinguished lawyer and veteran politician. The implication was that Mr Falvey had been aware of some corruption in the government but had been shocked at learning of its real dimension.

Naturally it brought howls of protest from the Public Service Association which claimed that, with one stroke of the brush, Mr Falvey had tarred the entire Civil Ser vice. Others were equally outraged but, by far and large, the public merely nodded its head in assent. Some people thought Mr Falvey had put his foot in his mouth but this hardly mattered. More likely, Mr Falvey, whose own personal integrity not even his harshest critics would question, had been truly flabbergasted at finding out how corruption had permeated almost every level of government activity.

Corruption is not a multi-million dollar racket in Fiji but it has, nevertheless, become an accepted way of getting things done. Only the naive would deny the existence of graft or, to use an expression from the local lingua franca, ghoose. It is next to impossible to prosecute and prove a case against those giving and receiving ghoose. The police have so far won court convictions in only a few cases where an honest police officer himself might have complained because he refused to be bribed. A few attempts to prosecute corrupt driving examiners have been un

successful. Few people want to testify in such cases.

The extent of corruption and black money changing hands may vary from a mere bottle of Scotch given to a govern ment clerk who might expedite an ap plication for a fishing licence to a “gift” of several hundred dollars to a middle man who might secure a land lease for a far mer.

The Native Land Trust Board recently suspended one of its officers because of irregularities in issuing leases (read “bribery”). I have met many people who have greased the palms of officials of government departments and statutory bodies. They spoke freely about how they got their problems solved by forking out cash and passing it to their benefactors un der the table. But none would dream of going to the police.

“Why should I? I have got a new taxi plate for $lOO when there was little hope of getting one without giving ghoose to the right people,” a Nadi man recently told me. His story was not without a certain bizarre humour.

Taxis are restricted in Fiji and so there is a black market in taxi plates. A beaten up car with a taxi plate can fetch up to $6,000 or more. The man in this case said he merely went to an official in the right government office and blandly told him that he would give him $lOO if he would get a taxi plate. The official demurred but finally accepted the offer. He asked for the money but the wily corrupter said he would not play it that way. He wanted the official to hand him the licence with one hand and simultaneously, he would put $lOO in his other hand. And so the deal was made.

Another acquaintance went to a Native Lands Trust Board officer to try to get a lease for a small patch of land at Lautoka.

It should have been a simple matter because there were no attendant com plications. But the officer put on a pretence of studying the application form and then turned to the man saying something to the effect that there were dif ficulties. My acquaintance, mistaking his remark for concern for his difficulties, concurred and started telling him about the hardship he and his family had been facing.

During the course of the conversation, he learnt that the officer was speaking about his financial difficulties and said $2O would solve both their problems. The applicant was asked to go out of the office, put $2O in an envelope and bring it back so that his lease could be issued. The money changed hands surreptitiously and the little matter of the lease was fixed up.

Dealing through the backdoor does not seem to have any limit. To get a job, to avoid getting prosecuted for a traffic of fence, to get special favours of any kind from officials who are in positions of power and influence all are worth trying through ghoose.