Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka says there is no need to be alarmists and be dramatic as he clarified his response to the media on whether there will be a state of emergency after Leader of the Opposition, Inia Seruiratu said that he is deeply appalled by the reported remarks of Rabuka, who, when questioned about the worsening drought and water shortages affecting our country, reportedly responded, “Are people dying? No, we can manage.”
Seruiratu says if these remarks have been accurately reported, they represent an extraordinary display of insensitivity, arrogance and disregard for the suffering of ordinary Fijians.
He says he finds it deeply disturbing that the leader of our nation would measure the seriousness of a national crisis by whether people have started dying.
Seruiratu asks since when has death become the benchmark for determining whether the suffering of our people deserves the urgent attention of their Government.
The Opposition Leader says across Fiji, particularly in the Western and Northern Divisions, families have reportedly endured days without reliable water supplies.
Seruiratu says the Prime Minister is a servant of the people, not their master.
He says if the Prime Minister genuinely believes that the suffering of our people is not serious until lives are lost, then he says without hesitation that Rabuka has lost sight of the fundamental responsibility of his office and should step down as Prime Minister.
While responding to Seruiratu, Prime Minister Rabuka told fijivillage News that the proper agencies and departments are scaling up their operations to meet the escalation of problems, while communities, using traditional wisdom are coping.
Rabuka says he was reacting to the media who was asking about a state of emergency, which he believes is not necessary at this stage since things are under control with the appropriate assistance being provided.
