GREED for easy money and government handouts are driving Fiji down a dangerous path, Lautoka Girmit Centre manager Selwa Nadan warned yesterday.
Speaking at the public consultation on the draft Counter Narcotics Drug Bill, Mr Nadan painted a stark picture of a society where complacency and the lure of fast cash are overtaking hard work.
“From my observation, the main driving force is the greed for easy money and people are becoming lazy now,” he said, pointing to a Lautoka businessman convicted of smuggling drugs into New Zealand.
“The man admitted to the parole board that ‘greed for money drove me to do what I did’.”
Mr Nadan questioned the growing reliance on foreign labour, with thousands from Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Vietnam filling jobs locals avoid, suggesting local complacency is tied to a culture of easy gains.
He also singled out government-funded freebies as factors encouraging laziness.
“My belief is this greed for money and laziness has a lot to do with the freebies and handouts government has given out.”
Warning of a societal shift, Mr Nadan asked the public to reflect on, “What is going wrong in our society?
This is something we should start thinking about.”
The blunt message underlines growing concern that greed and entitlement could fuel not just crime but a broader moral decline.
