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| Prof. Vijay Naidu |
Any assessment of how well or how poorly the current Coalition Government has performed in its first full year of ruling Fiji will obviously depend on one’s political standpoint.
The following is my assessment, as a semi-retired academic who supported a change in government, of the Coalition Government’s performance.
For measuring its performance over the last 12 months, Nobel laureate Professor Amritya Sen’s capability approach can be productively used. The yardsticks would include the freedoms enjoyed by citizens, the extent to which choices are available to them, and whether there are enabling environments in the home, in workplaces and in the various other activities in which citizens engage.
I begin with an evaluation of the leadership of the government, followed by decisions relating to academic matters, and then the Prime Minister’s own appraisal of their achievements in the first 100 days of governing the country. My critical comments will be shared at the end.
Leadership in good hands?
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka won the position of PM by just one vote. His decision to make the leaders of the National Federation Party (NFP) and the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) deputy PMs together with Mr Manoa Kamikamica of his own Peoples Alliance Party (PAP) was a master stroke.
Professor Biman Chand Prasad who is also the Minister of Finance is a reputable and well-established economist, an experienced parliamentarian, and a leader of the Indo-Fijian minority.
The Hon Viliame Gavoka who hails from Nadroga brings western Viti Levu and iTaukei support as well as his long-established experience in the tourism industry. As Minister for Tourism, he has been able to create the necessary collaborative spirit within this diversesector to boost the industry, and the economy.
The Hon Manoa Kamikamica is a seasoned professional accountant with strong financial and corporate management experience in a range of areas, including aviation. As the Minister of Trade, Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and Communications, he has worked tirelessly to promote business confidence and partnership with the private sector.
Hon Pio Tikoduadua has done much to assuage worries relating to the security forces in the country with his engagement especially with the Commander of RFMF.
Three women leaders have stood out on the government side.
They are Hon Lynda Tabuya, Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation; the Hon Lenora Qereqeretabua, Deputy Speaker and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs; and the Hon Sashi Kiran, Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, who is an inter-ethnic bridge builder with a solid record of working with and for grassroots communities.
These leaders collectively and individually have built over a short-span of time in government a massive amount of goodwill for the coalition among many Fijians. Scholars in Fiji and abroad were delighted at several decisions made by the government. Government stepped up on outstanding human rights violations and dereliction of obligations/
PM Rabuka immediately rescinded the travel ban on Dr Padma Narsey Lal, allowing her to return to Fiji and bring back the ashes of her late husband, Professor Brij Lal, to the land of his birth for internment. Brij was my contemporary at USP, and a close friend from our student days. For those of us in Fiji who had appealed in vain to the Bainimarama government to lift the ban on Brij and Padma, when Brij was alive, this decision was deeply meaningful. The former PM and AG had remained unmoved by the numerous appeals, including by Brij himself, to lift the ban on them.
It was especially moving that Mr Rabuka, Professor Prasad and other dignitaries made the time to travel to Labasa to join the Lal family in the rituals of returning the ashes of Fiji’s most illustrious scholar, to his beloved homeland.
Prime Minister Rabuka also swiftly ended the deportation order on USP Vice Chancellor and President Professor Pal Ahluwalia. At a heartwarming ceremony on Laucala Campus he publicly apologised to him on behalf of the people of Fiji, and welcomed him back. This action was widely welcomed by students, staff, and members of the wider community.
To the elation of USP’s students and staff, the government also ended the unprecedented withholding of Fiji’s obligatory annual grant payments to the university, promising to transfer $10 million immediately, and to repay the $100 million it owed to the institution.
The First 100 days
These early actions were recounted by PM Rabuka in his statement of 04/04/2023 on the achievements of his new government in its First 100 days in office, together with othersignificant decisions.
PM Rabuka highlighted parliament’s endorsement of the proposal to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to address the numerous ‘hurts’ that individuals and groups of people had experienced as consequences of political upheavals and military coups.
He drew attention to the massive national debt that the nation had incurred over the years under the previous government and the fact that debt servicing was likely to affect basic services and infrastructure.
Several improvements he said had been made in the working of parliament including the use of vernacular languages, which had been banned by the previous government. The Coalition Government, unlike its predecessor, also sought to work closely with the opposition to promote a more productive political climate.
In January 2023, 220,000 students were supported by grants to the tune of $44.4 million dollars as they returned to school. Government had also continued social protection programmes for 96,966 beneficiaries inclusive of bus fare subsidies, and care and protection of children and single parents.
To the relief of scores of students who had taken loans under the Tertiary Loans Scheme and the National Toppers Scheme, their debts were to be written-off, and replaced by bonding agreements. This became a reality following the June budget.
The government repealed the repressive Media Industry Development Act (MIDA), thereby restoring media freedom in the country.
The effective disenfranchisement of many married women by a frivolous electoral law change that required voters to be registered by their birth certificate name, was ended though a repeal of the law.
Several other pieces of legislation pertaining to i-Taukei Land and administration were to reviewed and repealed to enhance indigenous rights. The infamous Bill 17 was the first to go, and by the close of the year the equal land rental distribution formulation was modified to ensure that customary chiefs had more resources in their hands to use for the collective good of their groups and villages.
The Great Council of Chiefs was resurrected and met in Bau in May.
Government also endorsed Fiji’s support for the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights. A successful National Economic Summit was convened in April and among the submissions received from stakeholders was the Inaugural iTaukei Resource Owners Forum Outcome Document.
The ‘no jab, no job’ policy introduced by the former government among its slate of Covid-19 protocols in 2021 was revoked. Fiji Airways agreed to reinstate 212 former staff who had lost their jobs as a result of austerity measures taken by the company in response to the pandemic.
Positive actions were taken to revert to the retirement age of 60 in the public service, and to end contract employment for career civil servants.
Agricultural diversification is on the new government’s priority list, and sugar cane famers have been promised a guaranteed payment of $85 a tonne in 2023. Revitalisation of the sugar industry has been mentioned and an ethanol plant is proposed.
Government’s strong commitment to elected local municipal governments will come to fruition. This will be critical in re-building Fiji’s democratic foundations.
Housing schemes and the upgrading of informal settlements were also highlighted.
May 15 and 29 th became national holidays to mark Girmit Day for the very first time in Fiji’s history, and to celebrate the return of Ratu Sukuna Day, respectively.
As Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, the Prime Minister committed himself to bring the Republic of Kiribati and other Micronesian member states back into the Forum.
Other significant achievements
The arrival of the new government has been accompanied by a sense of greater freedom in the public sphere. Civil society organisations have felt that ‘civic space’ has reopened.
Trade union rights and workers’ rights are more likely to be respected, and under the Hon. Agni Deo Singh, the minister responsible for employment relations, there has been a revival of social dialogue among the tripartite partners - government, employers and employees.
Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly have regained legitimacy. However, the ban on public protests against the genocidal war on Palestinians reflects the continued influence of a former military officer and Israel supporters in circumscribing citizens’ freedoms in the country.
The Presidential Pardon under this government of citizens convicted for their involvements in the hostage crisis and attempted mutiny in 2000 is welcomed, as they have served their time. George Speight and Shane Stevens have also served their time and should be similarly pardoned and released.
Issues that require urgent attention
There are many issues that require government’s attention but the following are what Iconsider to be urgent.
First, social protection of the poor and vulnerable. Although nearly 100,000 people are receiving a modicum of support, there are in the vicinity of another 150,000 citizens who are needy and impoverished. With the rising cost of living, partly attributal to the 15% VAT, they also should be included in social protection programmes.
A more coordinated partnership system that combines government departments/ministries (social welfare, education, health, housing) and civil society organisations (e.g. Fiji Council of Social Services) is likely to be more effective in meeting the challenges of the more than 25% of our people who are poor or are at the margins. In this regard, while being mindful of the debt servicing of our billions of dollars of debt each year, social protection floor funding per individual needs to be increased to be effective in supporting those of our people living in poverty to cope better in their daily struggles. There are multiplier effects of social spending of this kind.
Also at issue is the urgent need to review the country’s minimum wage. The majority of those below the poverty line are the working poor.
Second, more effective addressing of informal housing. By now, a good 20% of Fijians reside in these self-built but substandard homes in localities where the land is subjected to regular salt water inundation, flooding and where the gradient is steep, and the likelihood of landslides are high. There are also significant issues of land tenure insecurity as well as sanitation for residents.
The Coalition Government has committed itself to improving security of land tenure, affordable housing, and squatter upgrades but more on the ground actions are needed.
Third, labour productivity and labour market shortfalls.
There has been a long-standing labour productivity issue in Fiji, and this is currently compounded by the loss of employees in nearly all sectors of the economy. It is worrying that there have been significant losses of experienced employees in the tourism sector.
Both labour productivity and shortfalls require addressing. In the health sector, graduates from the Sangam Institute’s College of Nursing and University of Fiji’s Medical School have helped in plugging the gap caused by the emigration of nurses and doctors.
It is apparent that the government is aware of stepping up TVET and other education opportunities.
Professor Wadan Narsey’s suggestion that more women should be trained and included in the formal sector labour market is a viable option which will also address gender inequality.
Short-term labour migration has gained momentum, and we have become a remittance dependent country, earning over a billion dollars this year. Remittances help alleviate poverty and recipients can access health and other services more readily. Their choices have expanded.
The issue of consumption vs investment of remittances is a problematic matter worthy ofattention.
Fiji has also become a transnational country with many of its citizens making a living abroad, and there is continuous movement of people, money and goods to and from the migrant receiving countries and Fiji.
Employers have been recruiting workers from abroad to fill gaps left by departing Fijians. It is apparent that the Immigration Department is facilitating this movement. The question iswhether we have explicit policies regarding emigration and immigration. The protection of migrant workers must be a priority.
Fourth, the infrastructure deficit needs constant attention.
Water supply, electricity, roads as well as bridges, jetties, wharves and airstrips require regular monitoring and maintenance.
Coalition Government Failings
The prime minister has made a few blundering statements in the area of foreign policy. These include his support for the discharge over 30-40 years of nuclear-contaminated waste water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan into the Pacific Ocean; his endorsement of AUKUS; and Fiji’s embarrassing vote against the UN resolution calling for a humanitarian truce to allow much needed aid (such as food, water, fuel and medical supplies) to be supplied to innocent Palestinian citizens victimised in the relentless punitive bombing of Gaza which is now widely recognised as a genocidal war.
The Fiji parliament had condemned the dumping of treated radioactive water by Japan and the panel of 5 independent experts commissioned by PIFS to investigate the treatment of the water for the presence of radionuclides and advise on the safety of the discharge plan, reported being far from satisfied. They proposed a safer method of disposal of the waste water on land, to prevent ‘intergenerational, transboundary and reputational harm, particularly to the fishing industry within Japan and the Pacific Ocean region generally.’ Both AUKUS and the dumping of radioactive waste water are against the spirit of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (The Rarotonga Treaty). Thankfully Fiji voted on the right side in the second UN vote calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The government has dropped the ball on domestic environmental matters including the campaign against plastic use and pollution. Plastic bag use is visible everywhere and seems to have mushroomed. There also does not seem to be much support for rubbish recycling efforts. The Department of Environment remains a toothless tiger.
Persistent cultural and social problems such as gender-based violence and especially intimate partner violence, family breakdowns, homelessness and street children, beggars and substance abuse, require a coherent whole of society partnership, and systematic policies. No amount of rhetoric and grandstanding will make these problems go away.
With regard to law and order, there is little confidence in the efficiency or competence of the police force. There needs to be a serious review of the police force and its efficacy.
The unsuccessful eradication of marijuana campaigns should be replaced by research and development of medical marijuana and industrial hemp.
Fiji’s status as a republic continues to be contradicted by the flag of the monarchy that colonised and ruled Fiji remaining on our ‘noble banner blue’.
Pensioners affected by the sudden reduction of their monthly FNPF pensions in 2011 are hopeful that the government will revoke Decree 51, imposed by the military-backed regime in 2012, so that they may seek legal redress for what in their view was a serious breach of contract by the Fund.
Conclusion
For those fervently wanting change in December, 2022, the formation of the Coalition Government came as a Christmas present. The new government has both enhanced freedoms for citizens and civil society groups as well as created an enabling environment for SMEs and for workers. The large national debt is challenge and managing it sustainably over time will remain with us for at least 10 years, but things are looking up for Fiji as its economy bounces back with the strong revival of tourism and dependant sectors.
The re-opening of civic space, return of respect for human rights, enjoyment of media freedom, reintroduction of elected town and city councils augur well for the resumption of a democratic culture in the country.
The Coalition Government’s solidity for the remaining 3 years of its term will be crucial for further economic growth, debt management, poverty reduction and sustainable development as well as continuing political development.
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