Labour launches 2006 election manifesto
[posted 8 April 2006,1430]
Labour launched its 2006 election manifesto in Nadi today releasing a
package of dynamic policies to rebuild the economy, create jobs and care for
the poor.
Launching the Party manifesto, Leader Mahendra Chaudhry
said leadership would be one of the critical issues facing the nation this
election.
“The current plight of our country is a result of failed
leadership.
“Fiji is in dire need of leadership that is strong,
committed, visionary and exemplary. A good leader must be committed to good
governance and sensitive to the needs of the ordinary people.
“He must be able to inspire confidence, provide a sense of
direction and hope and have the courage to do that which is right,” Chaudhry
said.
The Labour leadership provided all of this, he said.
Mr. Chaudhry’s full speech containing highlights of the
Party manifesto is given in full below:
“ May I wish you all a pleasant morning and welcome
you to the launching of Labour’s 2006 Election Manifesto and the workshop
that is to follow.
May I also extend a very cordial welcome to those of you
who are joining the Labour camp for the first time as new faces in our line
up of election candidates.
Let me be frank with you from the outset. Being in the
Labour Party is no joy ride. We set high standards and demand hard work.
Service to our constituents take priority above everything else. The motto
for the Labour Party is and always has been – the People come First!
But more of this in the workshop to follow where you will
receive technical guidance regarding electoral procedures, balloting and the
counting process.
We have been plunged headlong into an early election
campaign and the Party has some very serious concerns about the readiness of
the electoral process – an issue that we are tackling with the proper
authorities.
Our main concern is that the Elections office has not been
carrying out its constitutional duty to update voter registration rolls on
an annual basis.
As a result, we are now caught in an intolerable situation
– the main rolls are completely lacking in credibility and thousands of
voters stand to be disenfranchised as a result of errors, and omissions,
with a month to go before the general elections.
As far as I am concerned, the mess regarding the
registration rolls is simply symptomatic of the general state of
inefficiency, incompetence and lack of professionalism that Fiji has sunk
into after five years of SDL’s misrule.
I cannot overemphasise how important the 2006 general
elections are to the future well-being of our nation. Believe me, Fiji is
now standing at a crucial cross-roads - our people have to decide, through
the ballot box next month, which way they want the nation to head.
It will decide whether as a nation we vote into office a
caring and just government, committed to the rule of law, social justice and
good governance or we return the country to a government that is corrupt,
divisive, incompetent, insensitive to the plight of our ordinary people and
bent on pursuing a narrow political agenda to the detriment of the nation as
a whole.
After 5 years of SDL rule, we are trapped in a cycle of
economic stagnation with limited growth, low investor confidence and
unprecedented levels of poverty and unemployment.
In the past 5 years we have seen an arrogant defiance and
disrespect for the Constitution and the Rule of Law, and for the commonly
accepted tenets of good governance that is actually frightening.
Do you want more of the same?
The people of Fiji have to take heed of the warning
signals we are getting about the State of our nation. Within a week, two
international agencies have filed reports warning us of the crisis facing
our economy.
The Asian Development Bank country report on Fiji warned
of thousands of jobs likely to be lost in the next couple of years as the
economy plunges into deeper recession.
Similar warnings of serious economic downturn have come
from the United Nation’s ESCAP organisation. These are independent reports
from reputable organisations that are telling us that Fiji’s economy is
headed for disaster.
The economy can no longer sustain the escalating levels of
government borrowing and the widening Budget deficits. The SDL Government’s
financial indiscipline and mismanagement has driven the situation to a point
of crisis.
Of particular concern to the Labour Party is the
unscrupulous manner in which our pension funds in the FNPF have been exposed
to risk by the SDL government to finance its wastage, corrupt practices and
mismanagement.
Another concern is that workers’ savings are being used to
finance highly risky and questionable commercial investments.
Adding to the crisis situation is the fact that our key
exports - sugar, garments, fisheries, gold - have fallen sharply over the
past five years. Whatever minimal growth levels we are experiencing are due
to high consumer spending rather than increased production levels.
This high consumer spending measured against sharply
falling revenue from exports has led to a critical balance of payments
situation.
Our Foreign Reserves are down to dangerously low levels at
less than three months of imports.
You are no doubt aware of the damage control measures the
Reserve Bank put in place just recently by raising interest rates to curb
consumer spending and mopping up some of the excess liquidity from the
system.
But I have no doubt that come June, they will have to take
more desperate measures to deal with the crisis – they may be forced to
devalue the dollar and impose strict exchange control measures.
Despite these signs of a crisis, and the independent
reports that the economy is in serious trouble, the SDL and the Prime
Minister are trying to hoodwink the nation
by claiming growth levels at 5% and investment levels at 17%.
The truth is that both international agencies, ESCAP and
ADB have expressed concern at the very low investment level of about 3% and
the dismal 2% growth forecast for this year, and the next couple of years.
But we don’t really need outsiders to tell us that the
nation is heading towards disaster. Fiji’s economy has been steadily
declining since 2001 under a government that is lost on sound strategies for
economic growth and job creation, and whose divisive policies and actions
are actively undermining investor confidence.
Look at the signs of increasing social distress around us.
More than 50% of our people live in poverty or at risk of
poverty, struggling to find one decent meal a day. More than 100,000 people
live in undignified hovels without piped water, electricity or sanitary
facilities. Unemployment is so high our young boys and girls are being
forced into prostitution to survive.
These are alarming indications of the deteriorating state
of our society under the SDL rule … tragic realities of life under the SDL
government.
The growing impoverishment and the increasing hardship of
our ordinary people are coupled with neglect of our infrastructure and
social services. Our health care facilities and hospitals are in a shocking
state of neglect – lacking in skilled personnel, facing acute shortage of
drugs, basic supplies and equipment.
Water is a basic necessity of life, and a right. Yet
frequent disruptions to urban water supply have become chronic. Water cuts,
low pressure, fears of contaminated drinking water – these should not be
problems assailing a modern, progressive State yet they have become chronic
problems, even in the city of Suva.
Most rural communities do not have access to pied water
and have to and are forced to make their own arrangements for water for
household use.
Rural roads have been reached such a state of disrepair
that buses are refusing to service a number of routes forcing children to
walk four kms. to school in the heat and slush.
We need to rescue our nation from the destructive path on
which it is currently headed.
Labour’s Record
The Fiji Labour Party proved in 1999/2000 that it had the
vision, the sense of direction and the leadership qualities required to lift
the nation from stagnation and suffering, and to launch it on the path to
sustained growth and progress.
We set exemplary standards of good governance, managed
State finances and the economy prudently, achieved an unprecedented 10%
growth and put in place a number of measures to alleviate the hardship and
suffering of the people.
Labour’s 2006 manifesto expands on our policies of 1999.
Rudely cut short after one year in office, we were not given the chance to
fully implement our policies or realise our vision for our nation.
We present to the people a dynamic package of policies
which deal with the pressing issues that confront us today. Let me highlight
a few of our policy proposals:
The economy
We have outlined several innovative programmes to
invigorate the economy, restore investor confidence and create jobs.
• We intend to check rural stagnation through measures
that focus on agricultural expansion and the sustainable development of our
natural resources. This will create jobs in the rural sector, improve living
standards and halt the current high rate of rural /urban migration
• To create employment we will set up fully developed
special economic zones for designated industries. Enterprises offering high
employment will receive special attention
• We will establish a venture capital fund to stimulate
the growth of small and medium sized businesses
• We will invest heavily in technical and vocational
education programmes to address the acute shortage of skills in various
industries and professions
• Initiate a national service scheme to provide training
and development opportunities for young people
• We will dismantle monopolies to bring down the cost of
doing business. We will open the energy sector, telecommunications and
television to competition.
• Bank fees and charges will be kept under surveillance
• We will initiate special measures to revitalise the
sugar and garment industries which have declined considerably under the SDL
Infrastructure:
Labour will enter into joint partnerships with the private
sector to upgrade and bring about much needed improvement to infrastructure
and the utilities - our roads and bridges, water supplies and rural
electrification. Competent management of public sector spending will make
more funds available for the development of infrastructure.
Health
• To raise the quality and standard of health care
services, we will put the major hospitals on public/private partnership
contracts
• Labour will introduce a medi-care or national health
scheme to pay for health services and put quality care within the reach of
the poor
• We have outlined several measures to fix the problem of
acute shortage of specialist doctors and consultants
• We will help establish a super speciality tertiary care
hospital to cater for diseases needing specialised and highly skilled
treatment
• We will invest in promoting a healthy lifestyle among
our citizenry and campaign effectively against substance abuse to secure a
healthy nation.
Education
Escalating costs of education have become a real burden
for poor parents, forcing their children to drop out of schools for lack of
funds.
FLP will initiate several measures to provide relief,
particularly to poor parents, from high costs of schooling:
• Provide fee-free education to all Form 7 students
• Restore the per capita grants slashed by the SDL
government and gradually raise them to more realistic levels
• We will introduce an annual “back to school” allowance
of $70 per child in primary school and $120 per child at secondary level for
families living below the poverty line
• Reduce the cost of bus fares, by deregulating school bus
licensing, without compromising safety
Poverty
We have outlined several compassionate measures to provide
relief to the poor. Chief among them is:
• The introduction of an old age pension scheme for those
over 60 without any means of income support
• The medi-care scheme which will bring quality medical
care within reach of the nation’s poor
• Labour will review the current State welfare allowance
criteria and increase allowances to reasonable levels over a period of time
• Special housing assistance schemes to provide decent
housing to poverty stricken families
• To break the poverty cycle for families, we will create
income earning opportunities by developing cottage industries in rural and
peri-urban areas
Good Governance
• As a matter of urgency Labour will initiate legislation
to bring in a Code of Conduct for people holding high office including MPs
and Government Ministers
• We will enact a Freedom of Information legislation and
initiate an Anti Corrupt Practices legislation in accordance with
constitutional requirements
Law and Order is a major concern and Labour will ensure
that the Police Force is fully equipped with the necessary professional and
technical skills to deal with the increasing sophistication of criminals.
• We will provide more resources to the Courts to clear
the huge backlog of cases and give timelines to expedite the hearing of
cases and delivery of judgment
• We will provide special courts for traffic offences and
petty crime to free up the court system for more serious cases
• We will appoint an independent Legal Services Commission
to receive and investigate complaints against legal practitioners
• Labour will also set up a Police Integrity Commission to
investigate and prosecute complaints against the Police
Indigenous Issues
The SDL government has failed to deliver on its promises
to the Fijian people despite a highly vaunted “Blueprint” of affirmative
action policies.
The Labour manifesto highlights a package of proposals to
help the landowners realise greater economic and financial benefits from the
sustainable development of their land, sea and forest resources.
• Labour will set aside a special financial allocation
each year to assist native landowners to participate in land development
projects for commercial agriculture
• FLP believes that the problems of the indigenous
community have to be addressed through an integrated approach. We have
therefore identified a range of special assistance programmes for each
important socio-economic sector – Education, Tourism, Rural Development, the
Economy and Natural Resources.
• In addition, our policies on Health, Poverty
Alleviation, Social Welfare, Sports, Art and Culture will all benefit the
Fijian community, as others to create employment and improve standards of
living.
I have provided a quick highlight of some of our policies
designed to deal with the major issues facing the nation.
The crux of our focus will be to re-build and diversify
the economy to create jobs and improve the quality of life of our people.
We are certain that under Labour’s good leadership and
direction we can provide a solid foundation of growth to usher in a
progressive, just and fair society.
Leadership
Ladies and gentlemen, Leadership will be a critical issue
this elections. The current plight of our country is a result of failed
leadership.
Fiji is in dire need of leadership that is strong,
committed, visionary and exemplary. A good leader must be committed to good
governance and sensitive to the needs of the ordinary people.
He must be able to inspire confidence, provide a sense of
direction and hope and have the courage to do that which is right.
Our manifesto deals with this issue highlighting the
leadership styles of the leader of the Labour Party and that of the SDL.
On the one hand you have the proven leadership of the
Labour Party untainted by corruption, with a clear record of good
governance, high achievements and compassion for the poor and
underprivileged.
Then you have the leadership record of the SDL wracked by
corruption, mismanagement, financial indiscipline, divisiveness and
insensitivity to the needs of the ordinary people.
Our voters must choose between the two - the leadership
that is most likely to lead Fiji to unity, prosperity and a just society.
Finally I must point out that our Party manifesto is being
launched against a background of diminishing State funds. Our policies are
designed to be fulfilled over a five year period – not overnight and I
emphasise this because
Ali Baba and his 40 cronies have so depleted the national treasury through
mismanagement and wastage that there is little left to finance growth and
development.
Labour’s ability to deliver may be seriously impaired by
the precarious state of government finances and an economy on the limp.
Nonetheless, we have strategies and ideas in good measure
to turn the country around.
We also have faith in the resilience and dynamism of our
people and I am confident that working together with renewed commitment and
zeal, we shall succeed.
Ladies and gentlemen, with these words, I have much
pleasure in launching Labour’s manifesto for the 2006 general elections.
In this manifesto we have outlined for the people of Fiji
our vision for the nation. Place your trust in us - we have a credible
record of delivering on our promises.
The future of our nation is now in your hands, and your
good judgement.
It is for you to Change the Future. ”
Thank You
and May God Bless Fiji |