PM Bainimarama Delivers a Message of Progress
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama told the Ra people that when he spoke to many of them in 2018, Fiji was undertaking preparations for our most recent General Election.
He said he addressed the council delivered a message of progress and a promise of even greater prosperity for our beloved Fiji.
He said he carried that same message across the country throughout our-election campaign. “Once again, the FijiFirst movement captured the hearts, minds and dreams of the Fijian people. “Once again, I was honoured to be elected to serve as your Prime Minister.
“Since our electoral victory, we’ve lived up to our greatest promises: we’ve delivered our tenth straight year of economic growth, we’re continuing to empower our people with greater opportunities, and we’re affording those living in rural and maritime parts of the country a special level of care and commitment – going above and beyond the call of duty to bridge the divide between our rural and urban areas.
“Our assistance is given out of recognition for the unique challenges faced by our people wherever they reside. It’s never given on the basis of province. It’s never given on the basis of ethnicity, family connections, religion or communal background.
No one gets left behind
“When I sit down at the decisionmaking table with my Ministers, we don’t see this country through the lens of our differences. When we discuss the different provinces, we don’t ever pick favourites. We see the needs of all communities, and we get to thinking about how we can serve those needs as urgently as possible.
“That is the sacred promise behind how my Government operates. We care for all people. We empower all people. It’s not about where a person comes from. It’s certainly not about for whom they may have voted. Our priority is on making life better for every member of every family in Fiji. “
I don’t only work to realise that commitment when leading as Prime Minister, I strive to live out that mantra in my own life on a daily basis. While many see me first and foremost as Fiji’s Prime Minister, to me, my primary role is being a father.
“I care about my wife, children, and grandchildren; they, and all the children of Fiji, are what has driven my relentless pursuit to make our beloved nation a better place. They, with my service to God and country, are my life.
“Like any parent, or grandparent, I know that family is the source of our nation’s greatest strength. Strong families build strong communities which strengthen the nation as a whole. And strong families create citizens with strong moral foundations – citizens who adhere to our highest values, citizens who care for their fellow Fijians, and citizens who we can entrust with securing our nation even greater successes in the years ahead.
“The institution of family is sacred. It’s above politics. And every policy and project we champion is designed to empower families to perform their vital role in building a better, more caring and more prosperous Fijian society. ““The massive investment that my Government has poured into Ra is no different; whether that’s the roads we’re building to open up more of your communities to new markets and new opportunities, the assistance we’ve introduced to support those most vulnerable in society or the unprecedented funding set aside for your children’s education. “Friends, we’ve been busy accomplishing all of this while my opponents have been busy claiming that Fiji is running out of money. Seriously, whenever you hear that from a politician, I urge you to ask them: So, who is paying for our children’s education? Who is paying for our free water and subsidised electricity? Who is building the roads and giving assistance to the vulnerable?
Securing Fiji’s future
“I promise you – it’s not my opponents. Year after year, they offer no alternative vision, and have produced no alternative budget. “Their answer to all of my Government’s solution is “no” –– and voting “no” without an alternative never paved a road or fuelled an economy. Finding those real solutions have been left to my government. And every day that critical funding supports the wellbeing of our people, we prove the Opposition’s lies all the more wrong.
“But amidst all of this progress, there are opportunities being left on the table. As you know, my government has launched an historic initiative to fund the development of iTaukei land, and we’ve already broken ground on five such projects across the country. But I’ve been informed that not one complete application for the subdivision of land has yet been received from a community in Ra.”
Edited by Susana Tuilau
All development and projects is done. Villagers can now drink clean water; all houses have electricity and even the village of Vitawa has street lights in the village. We want to thank the Government for their assistance. Sailasa Bokini Mata ni Tikina (District rep) Raviravi