Two partnerships, your choice

Listen to this article:

NFP Leader Prof Biman Prasad and PAP Leader Sitiveni Rabuka in Rakiraki on Thurs 24 Nov 2022. Picture: ANISH CHAND

Bread and butter issues

In the choice between the Bainimarama/SayedKhaiyum and the Rabuka/Prasad partnerships, I need not dwell too much on the bread and butter issues as I have covered these comprehensively in my recent The Fiji Times articles (FT 30/9/2022 “Fiji Voters and the 2022 Elections”), (FT 12/11/2022 “Workers, voters and the 2022 Elections”) and (FT 5/11/2022 “Voters and USP”: What government do you want?”.

These articles have pointed out that under the Rabuka Government there was excellent economic growth which raised incomes in Fiji and created jobs, all done with moderate increases in public debt more than matched by increases in national GDP and average household income.

In contrast, the Bainimarama/ Sayed-Khaiyum average rate of growth of the economy has been poor, while the growth of public debt has been astronomical, more than outstripping the growth of the economy. Public debt is now at an enormously high ratio to GDP so that repayment of debt will squeeze any future government’s ability to pay for essentials like health, education, and social welfare.

The rates of poverty under Bainimarama/Sayed-Khaiyum have increased dramatically, with the sad never-before situation that the Fiji public have even been deliberately denied the official statistics they need to compare with previous rates of poverty.

When the Government Statistician (Kemueli Naiqama) revealed the rates of poverty of indigenous Fijians (a normal practice in previous years), he was sacked, a sad indictment of the Public Service Commission, which has appointed a whole batch of senior civil servants just prior to the election.

I have also written previously (FT 30/7/2022) about the Minister of Economy misusing statistics to imply that the incidence of poverty in Fiji was decreasing when the reality was that it had probably gone up to around 50 per cent.

When NGOs like FRIEND (Sashi Kiran) and FWRM (Nalini Singh) highlighted the worrying increase in poverty, they also were attacked by the Minister for Economy, as were also attacked the leaders of opposition parties like Prasad, Chaudhry and Narube.

But the Fiji public should know that a very concerned former Bainimarama supporter (John Samy) just a week ago wrote to me (email 22 November 2022) “As you are aware the sharp rise in the incidence of poverty is one of the major issues/problems affecting our motherland, Fiji”.

He informed me that he is organising and personally attending a Lautoka walkathon in January 2023 to raise funds for his charity organisation Foundation for the Education of Needy Children in Fiji (FENC Fiji) whose focus is on the “poorest of the poor”.

This year they extended support to about 7000 children, clearly a significant number who have fallen through the cracks of the Government’s otherwise worthy attempt to provide free education to all children in Fiji.

Of course, this objective is also shared by the Rabuka/Prasad partnership.

The sad state of the Fiji economy can be directly attributed to the one-man control of all government policies by a lawyer.

The huge increase in public debt without the necessary increase in national income to pay for it, can be attributed to this one minister approving massive unwise increases in expenditure by public enterprises such as Fiji Roads Authority, whose boards have been totally under the control of this one minister.

The collapsed sugar industry has not been revived (last month’s The Fiji Times has an advertisement for a consultant to draw up a Strategic Plan!), no new industry has been created for 16 years, and Fiji has been saved by remittances from abroad amounting to more than $900 million this year.

The partnership between Rabuka and economist Professor Biman Prasad cannot do any worse and will probably do much better.

Rule of law and constitutionality

Ultimately, all governments and economies must be regulated by a constitution which fosters investor confidence, growth of the economy, jobs and incomes – the “bread and butter” issues that are the most important for voters.

After the 1987 coup, Rabuka imposed the biased 1990 constitution whose electoral system was heavily biased in favour of indigenous Fijians.

But just after six years of ruling Fiji, Rabuka formed a multiracial partnership with the Opposition Leader then (the late Jai Ram Reddy), and set up an independent Reeves Constitution Review (the late Sir Paul Reeves, the late Tom Vakatora and the late Professor Brij Lal.)

The resulting Reeves Report was then used as a basis for the 1997 constitution into which the Fiji Parliament (including me) added the all-important “Multi-Party Cabinet” provision whereby all major parties and ethnic groups with at least 10 per cent of the seats were entitled to be in Cabinet.

That 1997 constitution was unanimously passed by both Houses of the Fiji Parliament and I believe is the last legitimate constitution.

In sheer contrast, Bainimarama and Sayed-Khaiyum produced a 2013 “Constitution” whose origins and authors are totally unknown; no Parliament has ever passed that document; and it has a fatal flaw that those who have used military decrees to impose that document on Fiji (or sign it), have also granted themselves immunity from prosecution for unspecified acts stretching from 2014 back to 2000.

FijiFirst party leader Voreqe Bainimarama and general secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum with party candidates during the rally at Syria Park in Nausori on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. Picture: JONACANI LALAKOBAU

This document removed all checks and balances on the use of power by the ruling government: no upper house; and weakened independence of many of the key constitutional institutions of government.

In the Rabuka Government era, there was no persecution of opposition members of Parliament or potential candidates for elections in the run-up to the elections.

I expect that the Rabuka/ Prasad partnership will revert Fiji back to the practices of the pre-military dictatorship era, with a review of the 2013 Constitution including its electoral system at least.

While there will probably be a reversion to local constituencies, the review will probably want to keep the proportionality element which has been an improvement by the Bainimarama/Sayed-Khaiyum Government.

Freedom of expression, media, human rights

It has been abundantly clear that under the 2013 Constitution, the Bainimarama/Sayed-Khaiyum Government has been able to stifle freedom of expression by the public and the media (see an entire section in my book Our Struggles for Democracy in Fiji).

A large section of the taxpayerfunded public media (TV, radio and print) has been brought under the control of the Government, effectively acting as Government propaganda and to attack opposition parties and MPs.

There were no such restrictions or control in the Rabuka Government era, and these are unlikely to happen in the Rabuka/Prasad era.

In his recent public statements, Rabuka has promised to govern through discussion, dialogue, proper debate and compromise when necessary.

The views of the people will always be paramount; they are ultimately in charge; what they say must be respected.

They will stop arresting those who express views that the government does not like, they will cap oppressive legislation and ensure democratic rights and freedoms of the people are protected.

Professor Biman Prasad explained the NFP MOU with Rabuka’s The People’s Alliance party as a combined vision through which they would “listen to and respect the views of everyone, even those who disagree with or dislike us”.

They would not rule by fear or imposition of two men’s views on the whole country.

They would try to put food on the table, ensure equality, dignity and justice at all times.

They would focus on providing good health services, education, water and infrastructure like roads and electricity, which have all been failures under the current Government, despite massive expenditures using borrowed money.

Buttering their own bread 

It is important for voters to ask if political leaders excessively dip into taxpayers’ money for themselves and their families?

When Rabuka was prime minister, he followed the modest salary scales that had been laid down by the previous prime minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

He did not inflate his personal salary nor his per diems or other allowances. Professor Biman Prasad earned a huge salary as Professor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics.

As Dean, and with my assistance, we bid for and obtained AusAID projects worth in excess of $30 million

. Not once did I hear of Biman ever personally exploiting these projects.

Indeed, Biman Prasad took a huge pay cut when resigning from USP and standing for Fiji Parliament, where he and his fellow NFP colleagues took even further pay cuts to help the Parliamentary budget.

In contrast, Commodore Bainimarama’s salary went up by leaps and bounds when he became Prime Minister.

His per diems were also set astronomically high, amounting to $3000 per day in some places, and his overseas travels were virtually unlimited before COVID hit.

See my The Fiji Times article (July 17, 2020) where I compare his salary and perks with that of the Australian and NZ prime ministers.

Of course, Australian and NZ prime ministerial salaries and perks are set by independent commissions, whereas our Prime Minister’s was set by a committee of junior FFP MPs, for their own all-powerful leader.

I suspect that Rabuka and Prasad will revert to the old salary scales if they form government.

Conclusion The Fiji Times readers can draw their own conclusions using my suggested criteria or their own for judging these two dominant partnerships. I suspect that the answer for most analysts will be that the choice is between “chalk and cheese”.

 

 

• PROF WADAN NARSEY is one of the region’s senior economists and a regular commentator on political and economic issues in Fiji. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of The Fiji Times.

Array
(
    [post_type] => post
    [post_status] => publish
    [orderby] => date
    [order] => DESC
    [update_post_term_cache] => 
    [update_post_meta_cache] => 
    [cache_results] => 
    [category__in] => 1
    [posts_per_page] => 4
    [offset] => 0
    [no_found_rows] => 1
    [date_query] => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [after] => Array
                        (
                            [year] => 2023
                            [month] => 12
                            [day] => 28
                        )

                    [inclusive] => 1
                )

        )

)

No Posts found for specific category