The Fijian Government is proactively addressing the root causes of poverty in Fiji.
Minister for Women, Children, and Poverty Alleviation, Rosy Akbar said this while handing over the kitchen and cooking materials as part of the income-generating project to the Maumi women’s group in Tailevu
“When I speak of recovery and Government cushioning the impacts of poverty on our people, there are a number of initiatives that I must mention to put things into perspective that only this government has done such as:
- Minimum Wage — The national minimum wage rate will increase to four dollars per hour, increasing from $2.68 that will be implemented in four stages;
- Removal of VAT on 21 basic items at a time that this revenue was necessary for Government;
- Social Protection Programmes — Targeted at assisting women, children, people living with disabilities, senior citizens, and the poor in Fiji;
- Micro Insurance for Welfare recipients — The Fijian Government, in partnership with Fiji Care Insurance Limited, has invested in a pioneer insurance package that covers social welfare recipients;
- Disaster Relief Programmes — Following TC Winston, the Fijian Government implemented the Help for Homes initiative, which was the first of its kind in the history of Fiji, designed to give affected households the resources they need to rebuild their damaged homes, including roofs to withstand severe weather events. The CARE for Fiji initiative was also an unprecedented and wide-reaching programme of Government assistance that ran across Government Ministries and Departments to aid those Fijians affected by TC Josie and TC Keni. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and TC Harold, Government spent over $6 million to support all social welfare recipients through cash top-ups and $1.1 million to support though affected by the cyclone respectively;
- Women’s Economic Empowerment — Through the National Women’s Machinery, the Fijian Government has supported over 50 women’s groups in a span of four years with Women’s Micro-Enterprise Development seed funding. We’ve invested over $2 million in the National Women’s Expo over a span of four years allowing thousands of rural women artisans to find a platform to connect to markets.
- We also recognize that there is a huge economic cost of violence against women and the Fijian Government has made budgetary commitments to the elimination of violence against all women and girls through the National Action Plan, DV Helpline, DV Shelter and DV fund;
- Education Assistance — free education is unprecedented assistance for Fijians — something no other government had given attention to. For the first time, sanitary pads are distributed to girls in schools in order to help them continue coming to school and maintaining their menstrual hygiene. For the first time, students have better access due to free transport allowance. We have ensured to make our children’s education as easy as possible on the pockets of Fijian parents without compromising the quality of education. Not forgetting, this is the first Government that eliminated racially segregated scholarship programmes and recognised and supported meritorious awardees under the toppers schemes for higher education, and made tertiary education possible for more students under the Tertiary Scholarship and Loan Scheme;
- Economic Empowerment of Disabled Persons — for the first time, Government has invested directly in the economic empowerment of persons living with disabilities.
- Subsidised Medical care, Housing Assistance, Infrastructure development, Agricultural Assistance, SME grants, and subsidies on basic utilities are also among the many initiatives that this Government has provided to low-income families.”
President of the Maumi Women’s Group, Adi Varanisese Vuibau, said, “I thank Minister Akbar for handing over this income-generating project to our women’s group.
“This will help to generate income for the group and can help us in the development of our community. This timely assistance is an early Mother’s Day and Christmas Gift for the Maumi Women’s Group and to the Vanua o Maumi.
“We also send our best wishes to Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama, for funding this project and supporting the women economic programme in Fiji”.
Mrs Mereoni Bainitabua Vueti, who is 72 years old and from Maumi Village, said it was a memorable day for the women of her community.
“I thank the Government for supporting the women at the grassroots level and providing such income-generating projects to help generate income and also reduce poverty in our community”.
Maumi Village Spokesman, Filipe Bolauloa, said, “The Vanua of Maumi also supports the work and development that the Fijian Government has carried out in rural communities”.
