Suva traffic costing Fiji hours of productivity, warns RBF governor

Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Ariff Ali has called on government to decentralise its offices out of Suva and for large companies to embrace flexible working hours and work from home — or traffic congestion will only get worse.

Speaking at Wednesday's FCEF State of the Economy breakfast at the Grand Pacific Hotel, Mr Ali said the daily commute was costing the country in lost productivity, with some of his own staff spending more than three hours travelling to and from work each day.

"As an economist, I think this is a big waste of our resources when people spend three to four hours just coming to work," he said.

Mr Ali said the solution was not just more roads.

"The government in town needs to decentralise. They should move away all the offices on this side and decentralise some of it between Nasinu and Nakasi," he said.

He also urged the Reserve Bank and large corporates to lead by example, saying he planned to extend flexible start times to as early as seven in the morning so staff could avoid peak hour traffic altogether.

"I think we need to start thinking about how each one of us can contribute to that," Mr Ali said.

Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel acknowledged the Suva-Nausori corridor and the Nadi-Lautoka stretch as the two most congested areas in the country, saying talks were underway on a new roadway for Suva, though nothing had been finalised.

A ferry or hovercraft service along the Rewa River between Nausori and Suva is also being considered by government as a longer-term solution.