Latest development on People's Charter for Change and Progress
Sep 10, 2007, 16:58

There have been 95 submissions received on the proposed building a better Fiji for all through a People’s Charter for Change and Progress.

The People’s Charter entails the establishment of a National Council for Building A Better Fiji (NCBBF) and 6 National Task Teams (NTT’s) to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis on the nature and extent of the constitutional, legal, structural, economic, social, policy and institutional problems and issues that Fiji currently faces.

The key output will be the production of the State of the Nation and the Economy (SNE) Report; and its key outcome will be the formal adoption of the Fiji People’s Charter for Change and Progress and monitoring the implementation of the People’s Charter.

A total of 15 Provincial Councils have made formal submissions to the proposed document.

Six (6) Provincial Councils did not support the document while nine (9) have committed their support towards the Interim Government’s proposal of Building a Better Fiji For All.

Most NGO’s and Civil Societies have responded and provided constructive criticisms, comments and recommendations for the way forward for Fiji.

Six (6) religious organizations have also made their submissions. Five (5) have supported and one (1) opposed the proposal.

The overall objective of the “A PEOPLE’S CHARTER FOR CHANGE & PROGRESS” will be “To rebuild Fiji into a non-racial, culturally vibrant and united, well governed, truly democratic nation that seeks progress and prosperity through merit based equality of opportunity and peace.”

The Charter highlights that the Post 1987 coup related developments caused severe ruptures in the very fabric of Fiji society, resulting in a loss of confidence that has been debilitating Fiji’s economy and hampering developmental progress and prosperity.

It is noted that while the 1997 Constitution was somewhat more progressive and broadly more representative of Fiji’s communities in the political governance arrangements that it promulgated, it maintained the race based architecture with emphasis on the communal in the make up of Parliament and put in place structures that continued to emphasize racial divisions in Fiji society.

The Charter also highlights that more recently in the wake of the 2000 civilian – led overthrow of government, the Military had initially installed the Interim Civilian Government.

Then following the 2001 and 2006 General Elections, Fiji’s political governance has been characterized by the politicization of the prison services, criminal justice system and the public service.

There was a significant weakening of the key institutions of governance, pervasive increase in corruption, serious economic decline, a significant deterioration in the law and order situation and a deepening of the racial schism in the country.

It is also highlighted that Fiji has been suffering from deep - rooted structural problems, a governance environment severely warped by the dominance of parochial ethnic politics and with an increasing incidence of corruption and lawlessness.

Furthermore, Fiji’s economy was generally in tatters and on the brink of collapse; with increased unemployment and underemployment, decline in productive investment, continued emigration particularly of the skilled and the educated, stagnant manufacturing and declining export sectors, a sharp deterioration in the fiscal and external balances, and growing poverty and inequality.

The Charter states that confidence has been greatly shaken and has been eroding significantly, with a growing sense of hopelessness across the nation, and the normlessness among the younger generation who have been increasingly resorting to petty crime, drugs and prostitution.

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No:1377