December 31, 2021
2022 is going to be a defining year for Fiji as the people are provided the chance to once again make Fiji a land of hope to unlock the opportunities the nation is capable of taking.
Many of us will be happy to leave 2021 behind. It has been one of the worst years for our country. The Covid-19 pandemic needlessly claimed hundreds of lives. For tens of thousands of others, life has been seriously disrupted.
Many could not even put food on the table for our families. Small businesses carefully built up over the years were wrecked. Students put their plans for further education on hold. Children suffered while schools were closed.
But 2022 promises to be a better year. Our economy should begin recovering again. Jobs and livelihoods are likely to come back. Many of us can begin again to pick up the pieces.
But 2022 is also a year to think of our country’s long-term future. We expect an election.
NFP will be ready. As the New Year unfolds we will be rolling out our long-term vision for Fiji. We will announce our participation in a productive political partnership that is ready to lead. And yes, we will be asking for your votes.
We have a generation of voters who have never known anything other than the Fiji First Party. They believe that creating fear, bullying, bragging and bulldozing are what all governments do.
We are here to offer the alternative – a government that listens to people, with leaders who are humble and respond to others’ needs. Our government will not be made up of insecure people. It will not have to show everybody how it has to win all of the time.
We will respect the political parties on the opposition side. We will take into account their views. We will understand that they too represent their voters and have a right to be heard.
We will not use the huge power of government against our opponents. We will use it to build partnerships with leaders throughout our community – traditional and religious leaders, community and business leaders, leaders in the union movement, the sugar industry and the education sector.
This is where the real work is done to make Fiji better. Not in the corridors of power in Suva.
We have a vision to use education to re-build our economy and our society. We want new industries in the agriculture and service sectors. We want closer and more productive ties with our sensible democratic neighbours, Australia and New Zealand, and our neighbours in the South Pacific with whom our relationships are in disarray.
But we cannot make Fiji better – we cannot use the power of government to make things better – until we have a better government. That is why we need a change.
We must get rid of a government that consumes all its energy in pettiness, ego and needless conflict. We must get focused on all the work we need to do to build Fiji’s future, to give opportunities to our young people and to protect our most vulnerable.
So as many of us enjoy the New Year celebrations, we ask that we take some time to remember those for whom 2021 was a time of loss and sadness – but also to reflect on the future that, as citizens, we all want.
The National Federation Party wishes all the people of Fiji a Happy New Year.
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