NFP releases 2014 Manifesto

The National Federation Party has released its manifesto stating that the party will reduce Value Added Tax from 15% to 10% as soon as they form government.

While launching the manifesto in front of about 500 people at Suva’s Khatri Hall, NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad said the decrease in VAT will result in the reduction of the cost of living for all families.

Prasad said the NFP will repeal a number of decrees including the Media Industry Development Decree.

The manifesto also states that the National Federation Party will increase the social pension from $30 to $70 a month.

The party has revealed that they plan to promote a Master Lease concept in which government leases all available agricultural land from landowners and then releases it to tenant farmers for a minimum tenure of 50 years.

NFP said it recognizes the need for dialogue and partnership between the landlord and tenants for an amicable solution to the i-Taukei land lease issue.

The party states that the NFP in government will lease land under the Native Land Trust Act from the landowners at fair rental that will be prescribed to a premium rate of 10% of Unimproved Capital Value bearing in mind the class of land.

The party’s plan is to release the agriculture land to tenants at 6% of the Unimproved Capital Value and the remaining 4% will be subsidized by government.

NFP Leader, Biman Prasad said the party will retain good policies like free primary, free secondary, bus fare, textbooks and grants to schools.

The party said it will initiate an Education Commission of Inquiry to curriculum, teaching content, methodologies and class sizes for the 21st century.

The NFP confirms in its manifesto that it will review the current External Examinations and Assessment policy, particularly the scrapping of the Fiji Intermediate Exam, the Fiji Eighth Year Exam and the Fiji Junior Certificate Exam.

The party also said that the NFP will create an Independent Examination Board and will remove scaling of external exam marks.

On scholarships, the National Federation Party manifesto states that it will retain the newly established Tertiary Education Loan Scheme however it will introduce a means based scholarship within the Loan Scheme to provide scholarships to students from low income families who do not qualify for the National Toppers Scheme.

It said that this is to ensure that these students are not burdened with a loan repayment after completing tertiary studies.

The party reveals that the NFP will convert all loans of students from low income families that were taken under the Tertiary Loan Scheme in 2014 to full scholarship.

On housing, the NFP reveals that it will review the legislation to provide proper land division and titles for squatter families while the First Home Buyers Grant policy to assist low and middle income families will also be reviewed.

On the civil service, the party states that it will reinstate the internal mechanism for civil servants to allow them to take their grievances to the Public Service Appeals Board, ensure that there is no discrimination in civil service appointments on the grounds of race, gender, colour or greed and institute recruitment and promotions in the civil service on academic merit and reflecting the ethnic composition of the population.

Professor Biman Prasad delivers the NFP Manifesto: