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by published 6 August 2001
Vote Labour
back
into
office WHY? Because
in our 12 months in government we set an unparalleled record of good
governance, financial prudence and sensitivity to the needs of the ordinary
people. .We undertook several measures to alleviate poverty in our genuine concern for the workers,the poor and the disadvantaged. · Our pragmatic policy directives and good governance boosted investor confidence. The economy grew by a record 9.6% in 1999. Statistics show we created 6640 jobs in the non formal sector, 3000 new jobs in the subsistence sector and 10,637 new jobs were expected in the year 2000. · Government finances were very healthy for the first time in decades under our prudent stewardship and the strict revenue compliance measures of Customs and Inland Revenue departments. Yet, our government was deposed a year into office in a terrorist takeover of Parliament on 19 May, 2000. Behind the coup were some corrupt businessmen, politicians who had lost power and renegade elements of the army and police. The coup was executed in the name of the indigenous people but we all know it had nothing to do with indigenous rights. The businessmen who financed the coup were opposed to PCG’s policies on social and economic reforms.
National
Reconciliation In
the past 14 months our nation has been through a traumatic period of devastation, violence, bloodshed and suffering
unparalleled in our short history
as an independent state . The experience has shaken us all to the core, eroded our trust in
institutions like the army, the police
and the judiciary and left most of us
feeling vulnerable and bewildered. We are now faced with the mammoth
task of
rebuilding our nation and rekindling the doused out flames of confidence and
trust. It is not going to be an easy task. No reconciliation process can succeed unless we face honestly the true reasons for the armed overthrow of the People’s Coalition Government and those who were behind it. The
People’s Coalition Government was a clean, caring government sensitive to the
needs and aspiration of the ordinary people. It did nothing that justified its
violent overthrow by terrorist elements. Vested interest groups, of all races, made up of a number of defeated politicians and some big business interests felt threatened by Labour’s policies on social justice, equality, good governance and a corruption-free society. They worked on the emotions of a section of Fijian society and enlisted the support of renegade elements in the army and the police to stage a coup. The
forces opposed to change wanted business as usual - corrupting government
officials, getting deals done through underhand means, evading taxes and
benefiting from the public purse. They wanted to keep the political system in
their hands and politicians under their control. It
is now well accepted that unlike the coup of 14 May, 1987, the May 19
insurrection lacked popular support. The racial riot of May 19 in the city of
Suva, the attacks on the residents of Muaniweni, Dawasamu and
other areas of Tailevu were orchestrated to create an air of instability
and to instil fear. The
truth behind what happened must be disclosed if our nation is to learn from its
mistakes.Too many innocent people have suffered and a number of lives have been
lost because of what happened.
An independent inquiry
We
will instigate an independent inquiry into last year’s acts of terrorism
focused on ascertaining the real
instigators and their motives. The inquiry will also recommend precautionary
measures necessary to avert such catastrophe in future. Compensation
for Victims A
number of loyal, innocent soldiers and policemen died in the course of duty
defending the State. Hundreds
of others, victims of orchestrated acts of terrorism, lost their property when
houses were torched or suffered personal injury through torture and violence.
Families in Mauniweni, Dawasamu and Dreketi in the north were forced to flee
in fear. Many lost their homes and farms as a result. They
were all innocent victims of the terrorism that gripped our nation. The State
must compensate families that suffered. Five
Year Plan
As we unfold to the nation our five year development strategies, we must make it clear that our ability to deliver depends very much on the resource available to post-coup Fiji. Our focus will therefore be on rebuilding the economy as fast as we can. But it presupposes political stability and respect for rule of law.
Just 12 months in office and the Mahendra Chaudhry-led coalition Government set a record no other government had achieved. We made it clear our concern for the ordinary people was genuine. This
table of economic indicators shows how the economy surged forward under
the People’s Coalition Government in all spheres of economic activity: .Government revenue was the highest ever .
Government expenditure lowest ever . Economic growth exceptionally high at 9.6% .
Inflation rate lowest
ever .
Sugar revenue highest
ever .
Tourism performance the best ever .
Every economic sector performed much better under the PC Government. .The
Fiji dollar was at its strongest.
Our
management of the nation’s affairs could not be faulted. Through its founding
principles the Fiji Labour Party, unlike other parties, is committed to the
welfare of the workers, the poor and the disadvantaged in society.
In just 12 short months, we initiated several new measures to help create
a just and fair society: What
we did for the poor ·
Brought down the cost
of food by removing VAT and Customs Duty from five basic food items
·
Brought 17 essential
everyday consumer items such as soap, toothpaste, detergents under price control
putting a price mark up ceiling of 25% on these items ·
Increased State
assistance to the poor needing overseas treatment from a nominal allocation of
$2000 to $200,000 ·
Introduced a $1m
Student loan scheme for needy children unable to afford higher education at
tertiary level. ·
Fee-free education
raised to Form Five level in high schools ·
Brought down interest
rates on Housing Authority loans to 6% for workers in the lower income group ·
Reduced water rates by
10% while changes brought to the billing system made actual bills much cheaper ·
Electricity rates brought down by 16 % ·
International telephone charges reduced 10%
Tax Relief Measures: Increases
in personal tax concessions 1.
child allowance raised by $200 to $500 2.
Spouse allowance increased to $1000 3.
FNPF/insurance allowance increased from $1500 per couple to $1500 each . Third Party premiums for motorists cut by
almost half 6.
Micro Finance scheme - to help the
poor start self-employed projects 7.
Direct Social Welfare assistance raised by
$3.3 million to $11 million What
more we intend to do if re-elected Our programme for social and economic reforms were interrupted
when our five year tenure in office was cut short by the coup of May 19 last
year. If re-elected we will
implement the policy initiatives outlined in our 1999 manifesto with particular
emphasis on introducing the following measures: Assisting
the poor · FLP has taken court action to challenge the re-imposition of VAT on basic food items by the Qarase regime. We will once again remove VAT from basic food items, as we did when in government. · To bring down the cost of essential items, the Labour-led PCG had imposed price controls on 17 essential household items. The controls were removed by the insensitive Qarase regime. We will reinstate price controls on these items. · We will restore and increase the $200,000 fund PCG had allocated for overseas medical treatment for the poor. This was removed by the Qarase regime. ·
Family Assistance Allowance will be reviewed from time to time
Women We will put in place a special programme to help abandoned and underprivileged women acquire skills to become self-employed. Money from the Micro-Finance programme will be made available to help them start small businesses. School
dropouts and street kids Similar programmes to inculcate skills will be put in place for school dropouts and street kids. Centres will be set up in each district for boys and girls. Approaches will be made to overseas governments to provide resources and technical assistance for these centres. The move will take young people off the streets and address the growing problem of juvenile delinquency and unemployed youths. Old Age Pension - In pursuance of our policy to look after the aged and the poor, we will introduce an old age pension scheme for the elderly who are without adequate income to provide for their basic needs. Fiji
National Provident Fund Benefits under the Fiji National Provident Fund will be improved with: · Employer/employee contributions progressively increased in consultation with workers and employers representatives to a ceiling of 12.% each from the present rate of 8%. ·
Legislation will be amended to allow members to withdraw savings
in order to finance viable small business schemes or to invest in shares ·
Medical insurance cover for workers and their
immediate family members will be provided through FNPF. The cover will include
both local and overseas treatment.
Education
PCG increased the Education Budget by $10 million What
we did:
· In keeping with our election promise we appointed a high powered Education Commission to review our educational policies with emphasis on indigenous education · To help poor students, examination fees were waived for students sitting the Fiji Intermediate, Fiji Eighth Year and the Fiji Junior examinations. · Fee-free grant extended to Form Five students in rural areas and those in under-resourced urban schools · A $50,000 grant was made for a Fijian Education Unit to review and enhance Fijian educational programmes and activities. · $1m Student Loan Scheme set up to assist poor students get tertiary education · $1m for urgent maintenance works in government schools · $1.3 million for upgrading facilities at the Queen Victoria and Ratu Kadavulevu schools · $4.5 million for the upgrading of non government rural schools and insufficiently resourced urban schools · We increased the allocation for multi-ethnic scholarships. This will be further increased.
What
more we will do: ·
To help equip poor students
for school we will make an annual allowance of
$50 per child in primary school and $100 per child in secondary school.
The allowance will be made available through the school system for students
from families living below
the poverty line · To reduce the burden of school bus fares on parents, we will deregulate licensing of school buses, where necessary, without compromising safety standards; ·
We will continue with our
policies on education for all with particular emphasis on training for job
skills and information technology
Indigenous Education – We will bring ethnic Fijian students into the main stream of education to provide opportunity for them to work in a fully competitive environment. We will also ensure constant monitoring of educational standards, home environment and performance levels of Fijian students. This will be done through a special unit set up in the Ministry of Education. We will continue the special assistance provided for Fijian education in the Budget. The teaching of Fijian and Hindi languages will be encouraged and made compulsory over time. Housing
and squatter
settlements Statistics
show that 20% of Fiji’s population live in
single room dwellings and that approximately 50% of all houses are
occupied by an extended family
unit… These are indicators of an acute shortage of housing in Fiji. More
than 25,000 of our poor people are living in pathetic lean-to shacks as
squatters. Many of them have no piped water, no electricity and no sanitary
facilities. More than half of these
unfortunate people live in and around Suva.
One
of the main reasons for the mushrooming of squatter settlements is a lack of
affordable housing for the poor and the low income worker. It is estimated
that close on 15% of Suva’s population live in squatter settlements. High
interest rates have
been the main deterrent to home ownership.
Unless rates are reduced, affordable housing will remain just a pipe dream for
ordinary workers. To
assist as many of our people as possible to own decent homes, the Fiji Labour
Party will: ·
continue its policy to
bring interest rates on Housing Authority home loans down to 6% for all income
groups ·
give
a $1000 grant to first home owners to encourage home ownership ·
A
Labour Government will upgrade the condition of Public Rental homes to convert
them into single home units. Present single room rental facilities under the PRB
are in a deplorable state ·
We
will continue with the Village Housing upgrading scheme introduced by the
PC Govt. ·
Squatter settlements will
be developed and converted into housing estates with all services and amenities ·
We
will also continue our policy of providing relief to a worker unable to meet
repayments to HA because of job loss. We will help save the home by
allowing a grace period of 6 months
when the home loan will be frozen without interest.
HealthOur
aim is health care for all
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