The Reserve Bank of Fiji has sought clarification on the Code of Conduct for public officials included in the Code of Conduct Bill which is currently before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights.
The Code of Conduct for public officials under schedule 5 in the bill sets out the guideline on how public officials should conduct themselves when it comes to situations of a conflict of interest, improper use of public resources, accepting gifts and benefits as well as political neutrality.
In their submission, Reserve Bank Governor Ariff Ali asked if the Code of Conduct for public officials in the Code of Conduct Bill would apply only to the role of Governor and Deputy Governor or all the officers and employees of RBF.
Ali says it is however their understanding that the Code of Conduct for public officials in the Code of Conduct Bill will only apply to the Governor and Deputy Governor while the organisational Code of Conduct of the RBF would apply to all officers and employees of the RBF.
During the question and answer session, the Chairman of the Committee, Assistant Minister for Employment and Productivity, Alvick Maharaj asked if the employees of the Reserve Bank of Fiji are recognised as public officials.
In response, Governor Ariff Ali said that under the current definition they were recognised as public officials.
Maharaj then said that this means each and every officer of the RBF needs to comply with the Code of Conduct Bill if they are recognised as public officials.
