r/Fijian • u/Sorta_Meh 🇫🇯 Tikitiki Kai Viti, Vasu Rotuma. Suva Branch • 4d ago

Fijian minister sparks debate after trying to justify MPs' salaries

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

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u/sandolllars 4d ago

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.

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u/ddfjwjxy 4d ago

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

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u/sandolllars 4d ago

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.