Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Fiji interim PM says anyone can act in his position when he is in NY

Posted at 05:15 on 21 September, 2007 UTC

Fiji’s interim prime minister says he will next week announce who will act as his replacement while he is in New York.

Commodore Frank Bainimarama will attend a meeting of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in his first trip abroad since he took over the country in a military coup last December.

Commodore Bainimarama says any Fiji citizen can act as prime minister.

He says finding a replacement is no problem as there are more than 200,000 people in Fiji who can act as his replacement while he is abroad.

Fiji Times Online reports that his Permanent Secretary, Parmesh Chand, is likely to be included in the delegation.