THE Fiji Police Force cannot afford to have excess staff as drivers, says Minister for Defence and National Security, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola. He made these comments while responding to a question in Parliament by Opposition MP Mikaele Leawere about the recruitment drive the police conducted on April 30, this
year.
Mr Leawere claimed the recruitment drive attracted a large number of people, but many were turned away because they did not possess a driving licence.
Mr Leawere wanted to know why having a driving licence was a requirement.
In response, Ratu Inoke clarifi ed there were no positions within the force such as “drivers”.
He said a tier model of the new Fiji police structure would only equip certain number of personnel where there was no provision for so called “extras” as “drivers”.
Ratu Inoke said personnel allocated within these “tier” modelled stations and community posts are mandated to drive during deployments, tasks and daily engagements by themselves.
“The Fiji Police Force is currently undergoing restructure and reform,” he said.
“The rationale behind why a driving licence is a requisite for police selection now and into the future are as follows; there are no positions such as drivers in FPF and officers drive and attend to reports as well and follow-up investigations themselves.”
With the increase in number of vehicles including motorcycles coming their way, Ratu Inoke said there was a need for more drivers. “At times, vehicles remain parked at stations because of
no drivers. “Being a major traffic enforcement agency in Fiji, with an increase of vehicle population, policing requires understanding of vehicle operations and getting licence forms a basis of this.”
