Litia Qionibaravi

Adi Litia Qionibaravi is a Fijian chief and member of the Parliament of Fiji. She is a member of the Social Democratic Liberal Party.

Personal life

Qionibaravi is from Ucunivanua in Verata, Tailevu Province.[1] She trained as a lawyer, then worked as a civil servant, serving more than thirty years in the Fijian Affairs Ministry. On 17 June 2005 she was appointed for a five-year term as Chief Executive Officer of the Fijian Affairs Board (FAB). In this capacity, she oversaw the work of the country's fourteen Provincial Councils, the Fijian Affairs scholarship unit, and the Secretariat of the Great Council of Chiefs.

Dismissal
Main article: 2006 Fijian coup d'état

On 13 December 2006 Qionibaravi was purportedly dismissed by the military regime after the 2006 Fijian coup d'état. The Military cited her alleged unwillingness to cooperate with the interim administration. Fiji Live reported that three armed soldiers had evicted her from her office in the building of the Native Lands Trust Board (NLTB).

Fiji Television reported on 24 December, however, that she had refused to accept her dismissal. Ratu Ovini Bokini, Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs supported her stance, claiming that only the FAB was empowered to terminate her contract. She continued to work from an improvised office in the Great Council of Chiefs Secretariat, in defiance of the regime, which appointed Ratu Meli Bainimarama, brother of Military Commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama, in her stead. Commodore Bainimarama reacted angrily on 17 December, with Fiji Live quoting him as saying that the stance of the Great Council of Chiefs in refusing to recognize Qionibaravi's dismissal was indicative of their noncooperation with the Military regime.

The Fijian Affairs Board formalized the termination of Qionibaravi's contract on 20 January 2007. The newly appointed board - consisting of five interim Cabinet Ministers and chaired by Ratu Epeli Ganilau, the Interim Minister for Fijian Affairs formally dismissed her at an emergency meeting called "to regularize the issue of Adi Litia," in Ganilau's words.

Corruption allegations

On 22 December, Commodore Bainimarama was quoted in Fiji Village as accusing Qionibaravi of having misused government funds to buy a personal vehicle and to pay the two workers renovating her house in Ma'afu Street, Suva. On 23 December, Qionibaravi replied that she was "shocked" to hear the allegations, but refused to comment further. On 23 December, however, she held a press conference and angrily denied the allegations, saying that she owned no house in Ma'afu Street; she had an FAB office there, she said. The car had been purchased with a loan approved by her superior, the Permanent Secretary for Fijian Affairs, the Fiji Times quoted her as saying.

Political career

Qionibaravi was appointed general secretary of the Social Democratic Liberal Party in February 2016.[2] As general secretary, she reformed the party constitution.[1] She was elected to parliament in the 2018 elections, winning 2,195 votes.[3]

References
  1. Jyoti Pratibha (15 August 2017). "Adi Litia Tipped To Get SODELPA ticket". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  2. "SODELPA appoints new interim General Secretary". Newswire Fiji. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  3. Talebula Kate (18 November 2018). "2018 General Election: SODELPA secures 21 seats". Fiji Times. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.