Getting down to business

It is Parliament week once again and YB is really getting the sense that for the first time in a VERY long time our politicians, on both sides, are finally getting down to the business of GOVERNING.

This may come as a disappointment to some social media pundits who have thrived on the chaos of Fiji politics as YB suspects we are heading for a boring stretch of problem-solving policy driven debate that hopefully will set Fiji back on a path to growth.

Not that there isn't plenty of problem solving to be done but there is a growing sense that after the drama of their first 18 months in office, the Coalition have started to figure things out. Blunders are being corrected, stronger people are being appointed and we are starting to see some pay off from the repair work undertaken in the first year or so. That includes the comprehensive international networking that was required to reintroduce ourselves to the world as a truly democratic nation. Full disclosure, some might recall YB being critical of the apparent excessive travel undertaken previously. In fairness our concern was the blatant “junket” travel that did reach epidemic proportions. We would like to see some numbers, but we have a feeling this has calmed down, maybe the novelty has worn off?

Part of that process has been some brutal truth telling as we all have had to face harsh realities that have in the past been ignored for various reasons. The most startling of these was of course the depth of our drug problem but you could add to that the extent of the institutional damage within the Civil Service and the Judiciary, and the list goes on.

The confirmation of the new look two bloc opposition is a critical factor in the change of the political “mood”. The split reflects efforts by the Prime Minister to woo members of the opposition into an arrangement whereby they support the Government on key issues like constitutional reform and provide a safety net to prevent SODELPA going rogue.

The makeup of the two factions is interesting with the “9 Bloc” featuring ex-military and those who were the most uncomfortable operating under the direction of ASK. Leading the “16 Bloc” is Inia Seruiratu who might have felt more at home in the other bloc, but the Leader of the Opposition comes with a decent pay package so better stay with the majority.

There has been speculation about where this will leave the Coalition Government and the minor partners. The most obvious is SODELPA who have quite noticeably dialed back the drama of late. More importantly NFP have had their differences with the People's Alliance of late, the most obvious being the PAY RISE, and that has led to some questioning of their future. As YB has raised previously this online chatter has been over blown. While there are some within PA who are not fans of the NFP, especially after the last issue, there is no desire at the leadership level to disrupt things.

That is not to say that dumb stuff won't happen, the GPH dinner drama being the latest. YB continues to wonder how the Coalition makes these political blunders over and over again.

We understand that the Prime Minister might feel the need for a bit of team bonding but does no one around him see that holding it at the GPH just does not look right. YB suspects that this was one of those calls made by bureaucrats in his office without any thought to “the look”. It is a feature of this Government that those running the PM’s office appear to have made him inaccessible, which is surprising as it undermines one of his great strengths, his personal charisma.

Anyway, where to now? Constitutional review is currently on the agenda and once again YB asks the question whether this is worth the effort. The need for change is obvious but the process seems impossible, blocked by the referendum requirements. We see suggestions by the visiting Professor Regan that a successful challenge in court may be possible but unlikely considering the time lapse and the fact that the people of Fiji have voted in three elections under the current constitution. This means, in legal terms, it would have appeared that we have acquiesced i.e agreed and effectively endorsed our latest rule book.

Anyway, even if the courts ruled to throw out the constitution what are we left with...... a return to 1997? What is interesting , is a suggestion floating around for the formation of a broad-based community driven movement to reform the constitution, just how this would develop into anything with legal “legs” is beyond YB but smarter people then us seem to think it may be possible.

However, in the meantime focus should be on the pragmatic business of governing and more specifically repairing and rebuilding and with that in mind the next BIG item on the political agenda is the release of the National Development Plan due soon. In the past this has been the type of document YB has glanced at, struggled to understand, and then ignored (along with the rest of the nation). This time we are hoping for something more productive and with a bit of cross parliamentary scrutiny, it could set Fiji up with a plan that provides us all with a strategy for the future.