Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has once again failed the people of Fiji as the much-anticipated Cabinet reshuffle has turned out to be a sham, said Member of Opposition Premila Kumar.
“Instead of addressing inefficiencies or holding non-performing ministers accountable, the Prime Minister chose to expand his Cabinet by appointing seven additional ministers and assistant ministers,” she said.
“This isn’t a reshuffle. It’s a bailout for underperforming ministers and assistant ministers who continue to hold their positions, enjoying perks, all at the expense of hardworking Fijians.
“Rather than moving ineffective leaders to the backbench, the Prime Minister has opted to preserve the status quo – at the expense of the people.
“Before the election, both the Prime Minister and the Minister for Finance pledged to reduce the size of Government and cut unnecessary costs. Today, they have abandoned those promises.
“The current administration has ballooned to 34 ministers and assistant ministers, with 22 Cabinet ministers and 12 assistant ministers making it one of the largest in Fiji’s history.”
Ms Kumar said nearly every Coalition partner member has been handed a ministerial position, with only two excluded for disciplinary reasons.
Ms Kumar said the current ministers and assistant ministers are not delivering results.
“Rather than reshuffling or removing non-performers, the Prime Minister has doubled down on inefficiency, rewarding incompetence with reduced workloads with same pay.
“To make matters worse, these unbudgeted appointments will drain resources from critical projects, as funds are redirected to sustain this bloated structure. This is poor governance, plain and simple – a direct insult to taxpayers who are already struggling to cope with rising costs and declining public services.”