Fiji govt told to listen to NGOs on economy

Fiji's Civil Society Alliance is calling for drastic changes to the way the government manages the economy.

The call follows a survey by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), which gave Fiji a score of 39 out of 100 for budget transparency, down two points on its 2017 score.

The alliance includes the Women's Rights Movement (FWRM), the Social Education Empowerment Programme (SEEP), the Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises and Development (FRIEND), the Women's Crisis Centre, FemLink Pacific and the Citizens Constitutional Forum (CCF).

It said the government had lost the people's trust with its recent $US1.7 billion National Budget, because it failed to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and damage wrought by Cyclone Harold.

Following the Budget's passing in Parliament this week, the alliance said it was mourning the lost opportunity to help Fijians who needed it the most, for whom utilities, housing and food were the biggest challenges.

Call for collective approach

SEEP head Chantelle Khan said the IBP survey showed Fiji had scored "consistently low".

Control of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should therefor be returned to the opposition, Khan said.

"That's our way to hold you accountable," she said. "It's a way of saying that the money that you keep on telling us you have goes directly to the people you say it's going to get to.

"No more taking your word for it simply because you're the prime minister, or you're the attorney-general."

FemLink Pacific's director Susan Grey called for a collective, multi-stakeholder approach.

Grey said the government had not made any meaningful efforts to engage with civil society.

"We call on government to invite us to the table for dialogue and discussions on pertinent matters that affect our communities."

Shamima Ali, of the FWCC, said cabinet ministers should stop "glossing over" complaints directed at the government.

"We are on the ground, we can see our neighbours, we can see our communities and we know what they are going through," Ali said.

"At the centre, we are giving out more food parcels than ever before, even the men are calling us."

Ali said the centre had to set up a separate line to refer men to its male advocates.

The alliance has launched a partnership with Fiji's largest NGO, Then India Sanmarga Ikya Sangam (TISI Sangam), to establish a one-stop shop in Western Division that provides school lunches for children.

FRIEND Fiji head Sashi Kiran said her NGO had experience managing food banks in the west.

TISI Sangam had also donated a building from where the alliance could roll out the food distribution programme, Kiran said.

"We have been hearing all the time that more than 100,000 have been impacted by the pandemic," she said. "It means different things to different people. We are beginning to see much more despair and much more pain.

"Primarily we are looking at a food bank. When we provide food to people, we will discuss with them what food security should look like. We are also providing seedlings."

Kiran also said those coming to the facility would also be offered advice on livelihood options.

It would be based in Nadi which was considered Fiji's "ground zero of economic impact of the pandemic", she said.

Meanwhile, representatives from civil society organisations (CSOs) attended a national Budget information sharing session in Suva last week.

The event, organised by the Parliament Secretariat and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), had provided a platform for the NGOs to scrutinise the Budget.

Speaker Ratu Epeli Nailatikau told the gathering the NGOs played an important role in holding the executive accountable on how public resources were utilized.

Vani Catanasiga, of the Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS), said CSOs played an important role in how a nation's finances were managed.

Catanasiga said in scrutinising public finance management, the organisations helped to ensure that national budgets were people centred and inclusive of the needs of those who were "forgotten and left behind".

The UNDP's Kevin Petrini said with a shift in mobilising large economic relief packages as a response to Covid-19, there was a greater need for scrutiny.

Petrini said with any crisis also came the associated risks to governance and accountability processes, making monitoring of the ways public funds were being spent an even more relevant priority.

The European Union said partnership was crucial in this difficult time because it helped the economy to get back on track.

EU Ambassador to the Pacific Sujiro Seam said it was important for the government to work closely with the NGOs, civil society, businesses and other stakeholders to find a way forward.

This week, the EU provided a budget support package of $US23.4 million to Fiji aimed at helping rural communities.