BY SAMIE WAIKORI
The Prime Minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka has urged colleague leaders in the Pacific to serve the region by learning and carrying on from good work done by past leaders to mentoring the new generation of leaders.
The legacies of dedication and selfishness they had invested in leading the region are the very spirit to which upon the 2050 Strategy for Blue Pacific Continent was formulated.
Speaking at the ceremony to formally endorse the Ocean of Peace declaration during the PIF meeting that concluded in Honiara yesterday, Hon Sitiveni Rabuka shared some of common challenges faced by leadership in the region.
“I’ve had the privilege of serving in the political leadership arena on various occasions over the last three decades.
“As I look around, I am very aware of my place in the age calculus. For many of us, our journey went through the lowest of places where we saw the darkest side of the human heart (conflicts and battlefields) to the brightest and highest offices of the land.
“We have heard the best of melodies, for which our region is renowned, and the pain that inspired our words and songs.
“On the way, we had tried to avoid fires, but they ended up the very instrument that shaped and defined us,” he said.
Rabuka emphasized that lessons leaders had learned were not just for them, but meant to be shared as they carry the weight of these experiences with a profound sense of duty.
“We’re here to offer a steady hand and a guiding voice, drawn from years of shaping and re-shaping by “the One in whom we live and move and have our being.
“Those before us had fulfilled their duties. We, the present generation, stand on their shoulders.
“They had the luxury of trial and error, of testing and piloting ideas, they had the benefit of doubt as they transitioned our region.
“Today, our societies are less forgiving in the best of times, as their demands for rights, transparency, accountability are ruthlessly pursued,” he said.
The Prime Minister added that as they navigate the uncertainties before them, they must commit to ensuring that the next generation of leaders is equipped to face the fights of their lives with courage and integrity.
“Honouring the legacies of those who were before us can only be demonstrated by leading with the same dedication and selflessness they themselves invested in their time.
“These are the bases upon which the very spirit and intentions of the 2050 Strategy for our Blue Pacific Continent were formulated,” he said.
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