We are witnessing the trauma that many families are facing with job losses and hunger – CSO Alliance

The Fiji CSO Alliance for COVID-19 Humanitarian Response says they are witnessing the trauma that many families and communities are facing with massive job losses, hunger, poor health and lack of access to essential needs and can see the surge in the number of requests for assistance from across the country.

They say with the growing crisis, the Alliance is demanding the immediate resignation of the Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and add that our economy is failing at an alarming rate under his leadership.

They say Sayed-Khaiyum has displayed a profound lack of economic knowledge necessary for this mandate and the direction of Fiji's economy in the COVID-19 era would be better served under a new and more competent Minister of Economy.

The Alliance say Sayed-Khaiyum’s behaviour in Parliament this week and how he interacts with the public is unbecoming of a member of the august house and unpatriotic.

They say they are deeply concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in Fiji but it seems like the Minister is either tone deaf or perhaps oblivious to it.

The Alliance say the decisions of Sayed-Khaiyum have only worsened the situation for many Fijians and they are demanding him to acknowledge that all that has been done so far has been through donor funds and loans.

They say the Minister for Economy has had 365 days to put in place a recovery plan but that has not happened and instead Sayed-Khaiyum has resorted to blame games and accusations of politicising the issue.

The CSO Alliance for COVID 19 Humanitarian Response is made up of 7 organisations working across different sectors in Fiji including Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises and Development (FRIEND), Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, Citizens Constitutional Forum, Social Empowerment and Education Programme (SEEP), Rainbow Pride Foundation and the Fiji Women's Rights Movement.

They say since the first case of COVID-19 in March last year many NGOs and CSOs have become the humanitarian front liners of this pandemic and they have never waivered from supporting all those that have come to ask for help.

The Fiji CSO Alliance say they have continuously extended their support to the Fijian government to work with them in addressing the urgent needs of its people but their repeated calls have been ignored.

They add the Minister for Economy has assumed the leadership role for our COVID-19 response and recovery but he seems to think that he is the only one with the responses.

We have sent questions to Sayed-Khaiyum.

While speaking in Parliament earlier this year, Bainimarama said that Sayed-Khaiyum has his full support and the support of the members of the government.

The Prime Minister had also said that they have a plan to secure Fiji’s place in the most important global economic recovery of our lifetime.