MEMBER of Parliament Viam Pillay is calling on the Minister for Sugar Charan Jeath Singh to compensate farmers following the closure of sugar mills in the Western Division.
He said the issue was not about politics but about justice for the people who are the backbone of the sugar industry.
Mr Pillay said issues to be addressed by the minister include:
- immediate financial redress for every farmer whose cane was left standing because of mill closures;
- refund of penalties – a total refund of all burnt-cane penalties, as the delays are the fault of the industry’s infrastructure, not the growers;
- a transparent audit: an honest report explaining why the Rarawai Mill failed to operate for most of the year; and
- an emergency recovery plan — a strategy to ensure our communities are never pushed to the brink like this again.
He said sugarcane farming is more than an industry, adding that it is a tradition inherited from their forefathers and the backbone of Fiji’s rural economy.
“It deserves respect and action, not excuses and locked gates.
“The Government must intervene now. Farmers cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of a failed season.”
