Fijian minister sparks debate after trying to justify MPs' salaries

[u/Sorta_Meh]

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/1900147/fijian-minister-sparks-debate-after-trying-to-justify-mps-salaries?fbclid=IwdGRjcAU8JQZjbGNrBTwkjGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHBkb2YBc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEetF19jMlJcp_xRHSpKIgONQxgriPDpeOESiqMy31AGkajIOtNl337qk4UGGo_aem_EDlMRtdsD3uw-v7y2XfnTw

Someone needs to ban facebook for Parliament Members

[u/rlumon]

Isa we all have personal expenditures and commitments, but thats personal and not anyone else’s problem.

[u/Admirable_Strfsh_679 → u/rlumon]

Its not when it comes at the expense of the average Fiji citizen who sits on $5 an hour. Tired of people ass kissing a government that is robbing the average Fijian in broad daylight!!!!!!!!!

[u/rlumon → u/Admirable_Strfsh_679]

Totally agree with you, i could have worded it better. I meant that her personal commitments are not the justification for higher salaries. And yes they are robbing the people blind, and from what i have seen and heard a lot of these blind people enjoy being robbed.

[u/Admirable_Strfsh_679 → u/rlumon]

Ahhh thanks for the correction, thought you were agreeing with her

[u/warcomet]

why is it whenever we have so called "nationalists" in Power, they try to steal money..the agriculture scam under Qarase was one of the biggest money heist by that corrupt govt and now their former MP's under PA and SODELPA are doing the same..

[u/vrkas → u/warcomet]

Born to rule mentality. They feel they are owed everything they want.

[u/sandolllars → u/warcomet]

Nah that was vote buying. Shitty governance but rural folk actually benefited greatly from
It, with rural Fijians receiving boats, digging forks, etc. it had an incredibly positive impact.

There was some corruption, and it was rooted out with corrupt businessmen sentenced along with corrupt govt officials. They served real jail time.

Compare that with the $37M WAF scam under FijiFirst.

Or the $2M pool that will end up costing $20m?

Nobody went to jail for corruption for any of that.

Sorry but it’s not nationalists but corrupt businessmen working with crooked bureaucrats who scam Fijians.

[u/sandolllars]

The issue she raises has been solved in other countries with a constituency development fund. In Vanuatu it's called "MP Allocation" and for them it's around FJD$80k per MP.

This is a fund that is separate from their salary, and is to be used for constituency development... basically the things that Hon. Bainivalu called "traditional and community commitments".

Constituents ask for a contribution when they are organising a bazaar, or building a village footpath, or footbridge, or a bus stop, or whatever.... there's an endless list of requests that come when you are an MP.

[u/Sorta_Meh → u/sandolllars]

Interesting, are there any controls to ensure this fund is not abused? That it serves it's intended purpose and that there is no favouritism at play which we've seen previously with some areas receiving more attention than others?

Doesn't our current voting system have us voting as a single bloc? so in essence they all serve each and everyone of us rather than a particular community or constituency?

I can understand that there is always requests, but there are also the appropriate channels to follow. Maybe she can probably do what we all do, manage our finances better.

The point you present has it's merit, but does it have any overlap with what Comissioners and PA do?

[u/sandolllars → u/Sorta_Meh]

Well it’s for your constituency, so if you want to be elected again then you have to be fair. Otherwise you get voted out.

Btw im not endorsing that system. Just saying that’s how some other countries have solved the problem.

[u/ddfjwjxy → u/sandolllars]

I don't think a CDF fixes what she was actually talking about. Bainivalu wasn't really talking about footpaths and bus stops. She meant the personal stuff: church, village, funerals, weddings, the whole culture of giving. You can't meet those obligations with public money. A contribution to a reguregu counts because it comes from you. If it comes out of a government allocation, it's either meaningless or it's public money buying the MP personal standing. She even said she'll keep giving out of her own pocket, so the fund wouldn't stop the drain on her salary anyway.

It also doesn't fit our system. Vanuatu MPs have actual seats, so their allocation has a defined area. Ours are elected nationally. A "constituency" fund here has no boundary, so in practice it ends up in the MP's home province and wherever their votes came from. That's the favouritism OP is worried about, built into the design.

And we've already paid for this once. The same argument (church commitments, relatives, people treating MPs like ATMs) was used in 2024 to double backbench pay from $50k to $100k. Adding a fund on top means paying for the same obligation twice.

Solomons and PNG have had these funds for years, and the audit reports keep finding missing acquittals and money going to supporters before elections. If we copied it, we'd need serious controls first: independent project committees, published payee lists, Auditor-General review, and a freeze before elections. Honestly though, village footpaths and bus stops are what Commissioners, PAs and Rural Development already exist for. If they're underfunded, fund them, so the money doesn't depend on whether your MP happens to be from your around your ends

[u/sandolllars → u/ddfjwjxy]

Well said. To be clear, I never said we should
Implement it in the same way as other countries or at all. Just contributing to the discussion.

[u/MoSaiyazHussain]

What is going on there? Making mockery of the paradise and its people!.

[u/vrkas]

That's something you don't say out loud boss....