The announcement by the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama that elderly people 70 years old and above who have never received any pension or superannuation funds but will now do so has been highly commended by elders in the Bua province.
Bua village elder speaking on behalf of the Vanua of Bua Mr Rupeni Magiti said the announcement by the Prime Minister has been welcomed and has brought a deep sense of relief to villagers.
“We have elderly men and women over 70 years old in our villages who have been living as subsistence farmers all their life, but they have been serving their villages, districts and province with dignity. Most have retired from the hard work because of age and really need a small financial assistance as such to pay for their daily needs,” Mr Magiti said.
Speaking in the iTaukei language, Mr Magiti highlighted how most of these elderly villagers struggle to live on their own after being neglected by their children or grandchildren. He pointed out that the elderly in the country don’t deserve to be neglected and should deserve much more for their contribution.
“In most iTaukei communities the elderly are sometimes seen by the younger generation as a burden to their relatives so while people might think that the amount that will be received is a small pension only, it will go a long way to help the elderly in my village. It will also give them some security and some form of independence”, Mr Magiti said.
Mrs Akanisi Diele, who is recipient of this scheme was struggling to express her gratitude.
“We have served the church, the vanua and we will always work with government but to be compensated like this by this government is most noble and I never expected anything like this to happen in my lifetime”, Mrs Diele said.
“The elderly truly deserve this pension and on behalf of all the elderly in the villages in Bua I must commend the Prime Minister for this noble initiative to help the elderly who continue to struggle everyday”.
Nagadoa village headman Mr Isimeli Levuimata said the elderly in his village explained that the recent announcement is a final tribute to those in his village who have never complained and have worked hard for the development of their villages.
“The elders in our village have worked so hard to develop it right up to the stage where we are today. I think they truly deserve this pension to take them through their last days and for government to give them this, it says a lot about where we are heading”, Mr Levuimata.
In the 2013 National Budget address, the Prime Minister announced the allocation of $3.2million to be used for the pension scheme. From this, more than 9,000 Fijians nationwide is expected to benefit.
-ENDS-