One of the challenges for NGOs in the anti-corruption space like Integrity Fiji is the lack of research on money laundering and general corruption to inform the strategies it utilises to curb or alleviate it.
“We come up with ambitious strategies but without the latest baseline research we are not able to pinpoint the root causes of corruption and the ways of dealing effectively with it. That is why we at Integrity Fiji are so happy with the research by Dr Chat Nguyen and Professor John Hopkins on Corruption and Money Laundering in the Pacific.”
Reports coming out of TINZ have greatly helped Integrity Fiji in developing effective anti-corruption strategies. We have included this research in proposals to the United States Embassy in Suva, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and we are using it in preparation to present to the International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IEFS).
Strong 2021 for Integrity Fiji
In 2021 we launched a highly successful Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Anti-Corruption with the Fiji National University.
TINZ representative Claire Johnstone helped set up Integrity Fiji’s highly successful relationship with the Ministry of Economy’s Fiji Procurement Office.
For the November 2021 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) release in Fiji three youth leaders - Lati Shalom, Grace Konrote and Sam Walosio - made the GCB presentation nationally. We are proud of their effort.
The GCB release brought on a tsunami of publicity. It was very widely covered in the Fijian Parliament, FBC TV and Fiji One TV. The Fiji Times ran five front page stories on it. The media training we had received from TINZ’s Debbie Gee when she visited us in Fiji was very useful when we were bombarded with requests for interviews.
The quality of our online presence has improved due to training from TINZ’s Chelsea Cain on social media strategies.
Integrity Fiji would have accomplished little of this without the funding it received from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ MFAT) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through Transparency International. Integrity Fiji is deeply grateful to TINZ for all the support it provides.
Integrity Fiji was formed to build a Transparency International chapter in Fiji and has received national contact status, the first step in achieving accreditation. This is due to the leadership of Mr Joseph Veramu and his board led by Jofiliti Vaikoso.
