THE Bainimarama government is committed to ridding corrupt practices and building a stronger Fiji.
This was the comment of Acting Prime Minister and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum as he highlighted the hard and honest work of the current Tropik Wood Ltd management in achieving the first export pine chips shipment from Wairiki Port yesterday.
Speaking to the people of Bua, guests and government officials at the launch of the first pine chip shipment in Wairiki Village, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said there was a lot of corruption and mismanagement with Tropik Wood Ltd before the current management took over a year ago.
He said the team led by current Tropik Wood chief executive officer Faiz Khan, rectified the problem through hard work, honesty and commitment enabling them to successfully achieve a milestone for the people of Vanua Levu and the country.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the government worked in the best interest of landowners. He mentioned the need to always hire the best, honest and hardworking people who could do the job assigned.
Mr Khan also highlighted the need for good business practices for commercial success.
"It is with the combination of sound management decision-making processes together with anti-corruption practices, whereby we aligned ourselves with government's demand for transparency, which has made this day possible" Mr Khan said.
"To be sustainable between the contracting parties, any business transaction needs to be at arm's length. If it is not, sooner or later it gets found out and those are fools who even dare to think otherwise.
"Contracts that are entered into fraudulently and unfairly diminish our ability to give returns to our shareholders, particularly you the landowners who are the only shareholder of our company with dividend rights. Such contracts clearly do not have any place in the Pine Group of Companies."