HE PRESIDENT MAJOR GENERAL (RET'D) JIOJI KONUSI KONROTE'S ADDRESS AT THE 2018 – 2019 ORDER OF FIJI INVESTITURE CEREMONY

• The Former President and Honourable Speaker of Parliament, 
His Excellency Ratu Epeli Nailatikau;
• The Honourable Acting Chief Justice Kumar and Senior Honourable Judges of the Judiciary;
• Honourable Government Ministers and Assistant Ministers;
• The Honourable Members of Parliament;
• The Chairperson of the College of Honour, Dr. Akanisi Kedrayate and Members of the College of Honour;
• Your Excellencies, Heads of Missions – High Commissioners, Ambassadors and Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
• Permanent Secretaries and Chief Executive Officers of Corporate Entities;
• The Acting Commissioner of Police, Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu;
• The Deputy Commander RFMF - Brigadier-General Mohammed Aziz; 
• Recipients of 2018-2019 Order of Fiji Honours, and Members of your Respective Families and Friends;
• Distinguished guests;
• Ladies and gentlemen   

Ni sa Bula Vinaka, Namaste, Asalaamu Alaykum, Ni Hao, Noa’ia ‘e Mauri, and A very good morning to you all.   

Ladies and gentlemen, at the outset, I believe it prudent and proper that we acknowledge and commend the good Reverend Viliame Tunidau for his short and inspirational Divine presentation this morning.

As your President, and Chancellor of The Order of Fiji, I am extremely pleased, honoured and very thankful indeed that we are able to come together this morning to acknowledge and appropriately reward recipients of the 2018-2019 Order of Fiji Awards Honour Roll and most importantly, to continue to promote and uphold one of this Institution’s Desired Outcomes and Responsibilities and hopefully inculcate into the psyche of every citizen of our beloved nation, the “Culture of Appreciation and Inclusivity”.  

Ladies and gentlemen, today’s investiture ceremony is in line and conformity with the standard and protocols of The Order of Fiji and similar to past Ceremonies that had been conducted in this State House since Government instituted the Order in 1995.  Today’s Investiture Ceremony is another important milestone in the history of the Order whereby Government and we, as Fijians, continue to acknowledge, but more importantly, honour and reward those deserving members of our Society for their selfless contributions to Nation Building and on one or two occasions, for acts of Bravery during extreme and dangerous situations.  

The Recipients of Today’s awards, in my humble opinion may be referred to as ‘extraordinary individuals’ who should be justifiably proud of their individual or collective actions in serving humanity either here at home or overseas.  Service away from home has been reflected in the manner in which our Servicemen and Women on Peacekeeping/Peace Support Operations had been performing in some of the World’s most volatile and dangerous conflict zones and with our Sports Men and Women who proudly represent Fiji to the world, showcasing their talents and skills in the sport of their choice and expertise. Ladies and gentlemen, in this regard, these are amongst the Recipients today, some of our fellow citizen who had done exceptionally well – and has made us all proud to be Fijians.

Ladies and gentlemen, today’s world has now sadly evolved into a global community whose values and ethics have changed quiet dramatically, more so recently with the imposition of ‘The New Norm’ consequent upon the Present, Real and On-going Threat to Humanity’s socio-political and economical cohesion and wellbeing because of The COVID-19 Pandemic. Many of us take most things for granted, some have unfortunately, become less tolerant towards one another and have become very ungrateful, hence my commitment as Your President and Head of State to continue advocating for all Fijians to be more mindful, loving and caring towards one another and develop our National Sense of Oneness and a Culture of Appreciation – by appropriately acknowledging and timely rewarding deserving members of our communities for their contributions and service.

In view of this, Ladies and gentlemen, may I humbly request that as Parents, Politicians, Church Leaders, Chiefs of the Vanua or Ordinary Citizens, please be more forthcoming with your nominations to the College of Honour for deserving Fijians whom you consider to be worthy of recognition and be appropriately acknowledged and rewarded for their selfless work and contributions towards Good Governance, and the maintenance of National Pride and Good Morale. 

Ladies and gentlemen, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge and thank those of our first responders and those at the helm of this fight at keeping the spread of COVID-19 in our country at bay with their vigilance and sound proactive advice and actions that has seen Fiji 230 days free of any in-country transmission of the Pandemic Virus since April this year – Thank you – Vinaka Vakalevu – Dhanyavaad! - to our Doctors, Nurses, Members of the various Departments of The Civil Service and Society and last, but not least, All Ranks of The Republic of Fiji Military Force and the Rank and File of The Fiji Police.    

Ladies and gentlemen, at this juncture, allow me to acknowledge our ‘Special Guests’ today, the Recipients of the 2018-2019 Awards – Congratulations and well done – You should be justifiably proud of your achievements and have every right to be presented with your Awards and on behalf of all Fijians, I would like to wish you well and every success in your future endeavours. 

Similarly, I consider it prudent and proper that I also acknowledge and thank your Spouses, Family members, Colleagues and Friends for their invaluable support and encouragement during your journey of achievement culminating in today’s Awards Ceremony.

In conclusion, I would also like to commend and thank Dr. Akanisi Kedrayate, Mrs. Sabita Lal Gandhi, Brigadier-General Apakuki Kurusiga, Mr. Nesbitt Hazelman and Mr. Michael Yee Joy for your dedication and meticulous work as Members of the College of Honour in maintaining and upholding the integrity of the Office of the President and the Order of Fiji. 

Vinaka Vakalevu, Dhanyavaad, Xiexie, Faiak’sea, Thank you All and God Bless.