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Issue No: 692; 21 April 2001
The Minister for Regional Development and Multiethnic Affairs in the People's Coalition Government, Manoa Bale, has condemned Qarase's Blueprint for ethnic Fijian development. Bale stated that the regime was soliciting support from ethnic
Fijian traditional institutions by showing the promises of funds to them through
the Blueprint. He condemned the racist nature of the Blueprint, and said that
the Blueprint will result in further waste of funds. He stated that this was not
the first time that a regime had adopted measures to pump in millions of dollars
of funds for supposedly ethnic Fijian development. He said: Bale said that all races in Fiji must be included in affirmative action programs. Meanwhile the regime has revealed that 90% of ethnic Fijian students drop out of school by the seventh form age. Ethnic Fijian students receive from the state any financial assistance they seek for their education. In another development, the regime's Minister responsible for
ethnic Fijian Education has stated that the ethnic Fijian community places more
emphasis on churches than on schools. Ratu Semi Seruvakula stated that more
emphasis must be placed on building schools than on building churches. |
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People's Coalition Government - Fiji Islands |
