by published 6 August 2001

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.  

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.

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. 

·         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.   

·         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.