Unfortunately many of our people feel it is okay to treat our home with disrespect by turning our islands into a rubbish dump.
Those are the comments of Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.
He says it only takes a short drive down the Coral Coast, or any road anywhere in Fiji, to see exactly what he means.
Bainimarama says many of our beaches, roadways and communities are strewn with litter, and once‑pristine parts of Fiji are now covered in garbage because throughout Fiji, many of our people are rubbishing their country in ways they would never rubbish their own homes.
He says much of it ends up in the sea, swept down by storm water drains into our rivers and, eventually, into open waters, where it pollutes our reefs, chokes our wildlife and does serious damage to our reputation as a beautiful and pristine island destination.
Bainimarama says we seem to have lost our way and the sheer amount of litter in Fiji has reached crisis level proportions.
The Prime Minister says he is ashamed by it and we should all be ashamed by it.
He says it is high time we said enough is enough, and demand that we do better.
Bainimarama says the sad reality is that we have business interests that also have proven to be very poor stewards of our natural environment.
He says just this week, an employee of a major waste management company was caught dumping rubbish in Nadroga.
Bainimarama says the Government has ordered an immediate investigation into that illegal dumping, and will take appropriate legal action to punish those responsible.
He has also sent a clear message to any other individual or business that thinks of dumping rubbish anywhere in Fiji that they will be caught and they will be punished to the full extent of the law.
Bainimarama also says that if any employee is told to dump rubbish, they should report that instruction immediately to the relevant authorities.
He is calling for a society‑wide response to this crisis of littering affecting our islands.
The Prime Minister is urging everyone to speak up if they see someone litter.
He says we should tell them to stop, tell them what they are doing is wrong.
Bainimarama says day by day, we will change mentalities, we will shift our values and we will make a difference.
