Unity Fiji is the first political party to launch their manifesto for the upcoming General Elections where some of their promises include keeping VAT at zero percent on essential items and prescribed medication decided by Cabinet, raising the minimum wage in a phased manner to a living wage of $8 an hour and raising the income tax threshold from $30,000 to $40,000.
It also includes increasing the allowances paid to senior citizens to $150 a month, increasing the allowances of the After Care Fund to match the increases in other allowances, reducing the number of government ministers to around 18 for a leaner government and stabilizing the exchange rate to cushion the rising cost of imports.
Unity Fiji Leader Savenaca Narube says their plan will moderate the rising cost of living and put more money into people’s pockets.
He says they will grow and diversify the economy through their Economic Transformation Program, so that every resource owner, of every ethnicity, in every corner of Fiji, can earn a decent income, including sugar cane farmers.
Narube says they will lower the national debt by cutting waste, not services.
He promises to make free tertiary education a reality and forgive student debt so that no bright young Fijian is held back by their bank balance.
The party leader says they will confront the drug crisis which is stealing our children’s future, and restore the independence of the institutions that keep government honest.
According to the party’s manifesto, if they come into Government, they will review fiscal and import duties on essential foods and fuel and rebalance price-control margins
so the burden is shared fairly between families, businesses, and government.
They say in the medium to long term, they will raise the production of our natural resources through their Economic Transformation Program so the country less dependent on the rest of the world.
The party also says it will strengthen family values and discipline, including reviewing the law regulating the disciplining of children, working with schools, faith-based organisations and communities, and reviewing the school curriculum to emphasise discipline, hard work and perseverance.
For young people, Unity Fiji says it will provide automatic scholarships to students who secure places at registered tertiary institutions, make tertiary education free, forgive remaining government student debt, introduce a National Youth Training Scheme and run awareness campaigns on issues including teenage pregnancy, HIV and cyberbullying.
On the drug crisis, the party says it will bring together churches, the Vanua and Government to tackle drugs, strengthen families, increase penalties and surveillance to cut supply, invest in rehabilitation and establish a dedicated treatment unit.
Unity Fiji also says it will empower women through access to capital, training and markets, strengthen legislation against gender-based violence, continue support for MSMEs and repeal the law requiring women to change their family names for elections.
On health, Unity Fiji says it will increase funding to repair hospitals and health facilities, address shortages of drugs and consumables, pay overtime to nurses and laboratory staff, establish diabetes clinics, improve mental health services and reduce ambulance charges.
The party also proposes an automatic full scholarship for students securing places at registered tertiary institutions, forgiving all debt under TELS, reviving technical and vocational education and training and the apprenticeship scheme, and reducing urban class sizes to 25 students.
On housing, Unity Fiji says it will quadruple the annual allocation for new houses from $20 million to $80 million, with the aim of building 1,000 homes a year, relocating informal settlements and helping first-home buyers.
The party also promises
to guarantee clean and reliable water, streamline government services and address traffic congestion by widening roads, improving traffic flows, building two lanes each way between Nadi and Lautoka, introducing temporary peak-hour lanes and examining sea transportation between Nausori and Suva and rail between Nadi and Lautoka.
Under its Economic Transformation Program, Unity Fiji says it will increase production through machinery, modern technology, seedlings and organic fertilisers, establish processing centres owned by resource owners, improve access to capital, review legislation relating to natural resources and promote an enterprise culture.
On public finances, the party says it will stop what it describes as the borrow-and-spend approach, cut government waste and introduce zero-based budgeting.
Unity Fiji also says it will strengthen the independence of institutions including the Reserve Bank, DPP, Auditor-General, FICAC, Human Rights Commission and Elections Office, increase parliamentary scrutiny and transparency around ministerial interventions and major procurement.
The party proposes constitutional changes, including implementing the findings of the Constitutional Review Commission and the Electoral Review Commission, holding municipal elections by the end of its second year in government and repealing laws that limit freedom.
On land, Unity Fiji says it will establish a land tribunal, review the TLTB, require consultation with landowners on leases and renewals, and change lease valuations to better reflect market value.
The party also outlines measures on climate change, including stopping the garbage incinerator project in Vuda, reviewing renewable energy targets, encouraging electric vehicles and household solar power, and reducing the number of people attending COP meetings.
Unity Fiji says it will also establish a facility for the diaspora to invest remittances in Fiji, seek constitutional changes relating to dual citizens contesting elections and review arrangements for workers going overseas under employment schemes.
On natural resources, the party says it wants to increase returns from agriculture, fisheries and forestry, add value through local processing and double Fiji’s GDP over 10 years.
For the sugar industry, Unity Fiji proposes increasing the price of sugar cane to $110 a tonne, allowing farmers to receive their full crop income within three months of delivering cane, exploring mobile mills and including cane farmers in the Economic Transformation Program.
The party also proposes reviewing the pine and mahogany industries to increase returns to landowners, including reviewing stumpage and compensation formulas and providing support for harvesting and processing.
On national security, Unity Fiji says economic wellbeing should form a stronger foundation for national stability, supported by a more efficient public sector and the Economic Transformation Program.
The party also says it will address field allowances owed to soldiers who served on peacekeeping duties in the Middle East between 1978 and 2002, increase after-care fund payments to match other allowances, support the Commission for Peace and Reconciliation and honour minority ethnic communities that contributed to Fiji’s development.
