Pio Tikoduadua shared this picture of himself in Israel in the town of Buq’ata close to the Israel-Syria Border. Photo: Facebook / Pio Tikoduadua
Fiji's Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs is facing backlash after announcing that he was undertaking a multi-country, six-week "official travel overseas" to visit Fijian peacekeepers in the Middle East.
Pio Tikoduadua's supporters say he should "disregard critics" for his commitment to Fijian peacekeepers, which "highlights a profound dedication to duty and leadership".
However, those who oppose the 42-day trip say it is "a waste of time", and that there are other pressing priorities, such as health and infrastructure upgrades, where taxpayers money should be directed.
Tikoduadua has had to defend his travel, saying that the travel cost was "tightly managed".
He said that, while he accepts that public officials must always be answerable to the people they serve, "I will not remain silent when cheap shots are taken at the dignity of our troops, or when assumptions are passed off as fact."
"Let me speak plainly: I am not travelling abroad for a vacation," he said in a statement.
"I am going to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our men and women in uniform - Fijians who serve in some of the harshest, most dangerous corners of the world, far away from home and family, under the blue flag of the United Nations and the red, white and blue of our own.
Fijian UN Peacekeepers have served all over the world. Here, one of fifty Fijian troops posted on the Mediterranean coast looks through binoculars at an Israeli post. Photo: AFP/Ramzi Haidar
Tikoduadua, a former soldier and peacekeeper, said, "I know what that means [to wear the Fiji Military Forces uniform]."
"I marched under the same sun, carried the same weight, and endured the same silence of being away from home during moments that mattered most.
"This trip spans multiple countries because our troops are spread across multiple missions: UNDOF in the Golan Heights, UNTSO in Jerusalem and Tiberias, and the MFO in Sinai. I will not pick and choose which deployments are 'worth the airfare'. They all are."
He added the trip was not about photo opportunities, but about fulfilling his duty of care - to hear peacekeepers concerns directly.
"To suggest that a Zoom call can replace that responsibility is not just naïve - it is offensive."
However, the Labour Party has called it "unbelievably absurd".
"Six weeks is a long, long time for a highly paid Minister to be away from his duties at home," the party said in a statement.
"To make it worse, [Tikoduadua] adds that he is...'not going on a vacation but to stand shoulder to shoulder with our men and women in uniform'.
"Minister, it's going to cost the taxpayer thousands to send you on this junket as we see it."
Tikoduadua confirmed that he is set to receive standard overseas per diem as set by government policy, "just like any public servant representing the country abroad."
"That allowance covers meals, local transport, and incidentals-not luxury. There is no 'bonus', no inflated figure, and certainly no special payout on top of my salary.
As a Cabinet minister, the Defence Minister is entitled to business class travel and travel insurance for official meetings. He is also entitled to overseas travelling allowance - UNDP subsistence allowance plus 50 percent, according to the Parliamentary Remunerations Act (2014).
Tikoduadua said that he has heard those who have raised concerns in good faith.
"To those who prefer outrage over facts, and politics over patriotism - I suggest you speak to the families of the soldiers I will be visiting.
"Ask them if their sons and daughters are worth the Minister's time and presence. Then tell me whether staying behind would have been the right thing to do."
Responding to criticism on his official Facebook page, Tikoduadua said: "I do not travel to take advantage of taxpayers. I travel because my job demands it."
His travel ends on 25 May.
