Viliame Naupoto

Who is Viliame Naupoto?

Commander Viliame Naupoto is the current Minister for Youth and Sports in the Fiji government. He was a former Commander of the Fijian Navy as well as the former Fiji Director of Immigration He was appointed to this post on 8 January 2007 by the Public Service Commission on the advice of Interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who seized power in a military coup on 5 December 2006.

Naupoto was appointed to replace Eroni Luveniyali, whom the Military suspended and later dismissed. According to a Fiji Sun report on 9 January, the appointment was made in defiance of a High Court order that Luveniyali be reinstated.

In an interview with the Fiji Sun published on 23 January 2007, Naupoto said that Fiji's immigration system was replete with loopholes that allowed illegal immigrants to enter the country easily. This fueled corruption in the country, he claimed.