Acting PM Blasts Opposition for Criticism
“It was very morally demoralising in Parliament this week when one of the members of Opposition asked why does the Government consult school children in the Budget consultations. It goes to show there are still people within our society who do not value o
Acting Prime Minister and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has again hit out at the Opposition over its performance in Parliament. He made the remarks on Saturday. during the Outrigger Walk for Kids 2018 at the Sigatoka Special School He said: “I cannot help but say this. It was very morally demoralising for me this week in Parliament when one of the members of Opposition asked us as to why do we go and consult school children in the Budget consultations.
“It goes to show that there are still people within our society who do not value our youth.”
Fifty per cent of the entire population is below the age of 27, 70 per cent is below the age of 40.
“I think it is a very wrong attitude to have because these young people with special needs or without special needs are part of the future and we need to invest in our future to empower them with knowledge,” the A-G said.
“We need to invest in them by way of giving them access to information and facilities because by doing so we are making our country much stronger and even providing them a much better future for them.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum reiterated that the Government would continue to look at avenues to assist persons with disabilities.
The Government had recently ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
“As a society we are only as good as how well we treat those who need assistance,” he said.
“If we do not bring people who are on the margins of society to the centre then we are not a very good society or we are not a moral and ethically driven society nor do we have that sense of humanity. “We must have that level of acceptance and tolerance and be able to dedicate ourselves to those with special needs.
“You can rest assured that Government will do its part.
“We now have a disabilities law in Fiji that makes it mandatory upon Government and other actors within the State to carry out various responsibilities to ensure that we are able to cater for those with special needs,” he said