‘Protect the vulnerable’: FCOSS calls for welfare safeguards

The Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) executive director, Vani Catanasiga, is urging the Government to protect social welfare funding for the poor and vulnerable if a mini-budget is introduced.

Ms Catanisiga said the current economic crisis is partly a result of the coalition Government’s own spending decisions.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said this week a mini-budget was “very likely” as the country faces rising fuel costs, pressure from Energy Fiji Limited (EFL) over power rationing, and a tighter national budget.

A mini-budget is a short-term spending plan to cover the Government until the end of 2026.

Ms Catanasiga said FCOSS had made budget submissions last month and was watching closely.

“I hope that it will continue to maintain the social protection floors that is critical during times of crisis for those who are vulnerable – the elderly, those at risk from violence, hunger, all of those things,” she said.

Ms Catanasiga said the Government brought some of this pressure on itself by expanding Cabinet and creating new ministerial portfolios FCOSS had previously warned against.

“Now we are paying for it – we’re paying for that cost,” she said.

Ms Catanasiga called for the Government to show fiscal discipline and better coordination with civil society.

“The Government has to demonstrate discipline. We need to do planning better.

“We need to work with us a bit better in terms of coordinating a whole-of-society response to the ongoing crisis,” she said.