Hello everyone! Wishing you all a Happy New Year and welcome to the first blog of 2024 on IN THE WHITE.  

This write-up is an essay I had written for one of my postgraduate unit’s in 2023, hope you find it interesting and informative.

Overview 

Situated in the South Pacific region, a small island developing state called Fiji is no stranger when it comes to the topic of poverty. While it has its own social, economic, and political challenges that has contributed to poverty in Fiji, the threat posed by multiculturalism and the influence of international actors cannot be ignored. It is important to note that poverty is a broad topic and documented evidence surrounding this topic is limited, when it comes to research in the Pacific, especially on a specific country like Fiji. However, this Independent Policy Analysis Paper uses several journal articles and book chapters such as “Public Spending and the Poor: Theory and Evidence,” Poverty in Fiji: Who are the Urban Poor? Poverty and Affirmative Action Policies in Fiji: Paradigmatic Fault lines, Introduction: Poverty in Fiji-Evidence from Recent Data, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Programs in Fiji: Are they pro poor? And Strengthening Fiji’s national poverty policies in the context of regionalism “to support its claims.

In the initial stages of this paper, it is necessary to highlight that Fiji gained its independence from the British on 10^th October 1970, and majority of its policies developed during the pre, and even post-independence era were based on race, ethnicity, and economic status. Notably, there were two major racial groups at that time comprising of the Indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians communities (Kumar, n.d.) who were imported from India under the indentured labor system. To this research paper, major discussions will cover poverty in Fiji from the period of the 1990’s to the early 2000’s.

Furthermore, the role of international actors cannot be overlooked in the context of Fiji, as it heavily relies on its international partners for development aid, trade, and other diplomatic relations. It may not be as straightforward as it looks since countries seek to benefit from other states through their actions.

Rationale

 The primary objective of this research paper is to assess the role of international actors and their influence on poverty policies in Fiji. some of the key aspects that this document will elaborate on includes poverty based on race, employment opportunities, the use of aid diplomacy and the effectiveness of social welfare programs. While most authors cited in this essay argue that Fiji’s poverty policies and schemes were a failure (Kumar, 2007); (Kaitani, 2007), this write-up will try to investigate the reason(s) behind such claims and possibly propose alternatives to improve the lives of the poor. 

This research is important as it concerns those who do not have a stable income, struggling to put food on the table for themselves or their families or those who cannot afford proper housing. These are common issues faced by people under the poverty line. It is sad to note that there are limited articles relating to poverty in Fiji and this document could add to the limited resource list available. The essay hopes to educate its readers about the poverty situation in Fiji and inspire further research in this area.

Theoretical Framework

This essay will be aligned with the concept of neoliberalism. Although those against neoliberalism question the relevance of the concept to the current political spectrum, claiming neoliberalism is just another form of capitalism (Feldman, 2019), others think neoliberalism was once relevant has now lost its touch in the modern political era. Nonetheless, the author Guy Feldman in his article “Neoliberalism and poverty: An Unbreakable Relationship” notes that “the state, the market and people of the present generation” (Feldman, 2019) play a vital role in understanding how the poor are ruled.

According to Feldman, “restructuring of the welfare state” (Feldman, 2019) took place in the early stages of the 1970’s when economic crisis such as the “inflation and stagnation” (Feldman, 2019) were on the rise.  The welfare state nature of countries after World War two raised serious concerns in the neoliberal camp as they claimed welfare states created a burden on the economy by depending heavily on the state for their well-being. Hence, this would discourage the poor through limited opportunities and push them further into poverty (Feldman, 2019).

The growing uncertainty and inequality are another form of poverty highlighted by Guy Feldman. The labor force is the most affected, especially those who are on short-term contracts, as they face the risk of automatic termination if the contracts are not renewed (Feldman, 2019). Also, the pay is not sufficient to lift the people out of poverty. The author gives examples of such scenarios from the United Kingdom and the United States, but similar situations can be easily found in the Pacific with unskilled labor. The construction industry in Fiji is one where workers are vulnerable to short-term assignments and less income.

Feldman also emphasizes on the “fabrication of entrepreneurial subjectivity” (Feldman, 2019), claiming that neoliberalism has changed the perception of citizenship and what it means to be a good citizen. Feldman believes in the current neoliberal order, citizens are viewed as nothing less than a mechanism of “market actors” (Feldman, 2019), who compete against each other and search for ways to increase their market value.

In line with another document titled “Public Spending and the Poor: Theory and Evidence”, which was reviewed for this essay, a popular Indian economist Amartya Sen highlights the “political economy of targeting” (Walle, 1995), where he views taking a targeted approach would enable assistance to reach as many poor people as possible, at the same time is cost efficient and minimizes wastage (Walle, 1995). While the point put forward by Sen is valid, he is also concerned about ““information distortion” (Walle, 1995) where he states if the subsidies are given to the poor through a specific criteria, those that do not qualify for the scheme or program will pretend to do so to take advantage from the system. The author notes that this is a communal problem around the world. Yet, he proposes to take a targeted approach. This is something that Fiji has tried to do for a long time now, but have they been successful or not is a question that needs to be addressed.

Main Discussion of Relevant Literature

A prominent feature of Fiji is its multiculturalism that gives this island nation a unique identity. But the same diverse ethnic groups became a thorn in Fiji’s development. A journal article titled “Poverty and Affirmative Action Policies in Fiji: Paradigmatic Fault lines” by Sunil Kumar mentions of “affirmative action policies” that were used by governments in ethnically divided countries (Kumar, 2007). As Kumar argues, racial politics in Fiji remained intact after independence in 1970, but a lot of psychological changes took place after the 1987 coup. Those in authority after the coup believed that affirmative action policies were the way forward to achieving equality between Indo-Fijians and the Ethnic Fijians, especially in the fields of business and education. Interestingly, the affirmative action policies did bare fruits of positivity, but came at the expense of racial discrimination and unfair treatment against the Indo-Fijians. Kumar further in his article refers to the 1990 Fijian constitution (Kumar, 2007) that had legal provisions for affirmative action policies favoring the native Fijians in particular. Whereas the 1997 constitution mandated the government to introduce affirmative action policies, to ease the economic communities (Kumar, 2007), which looked like a better option.

In a more general term, the then government policies, especially relating to welfare assistance were concerning as it lacked clarity in mainstream welfare policies (Kumar, 2007). The lack of knowledge and understanding of welfare issues amongst newly appointed employees created a gap in coordination and loss of direction amongst the program administrators. Also, there were no proper mechanisms or procedures to monitor cases once it is approved.

If we are to look at Fiji’s poverty situation post-independence, the challenges faced by urban dwellers cannot be overlooked from those in the rural setting. Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Sustainable Commercial Use of Customary Land in the Pacific 2016-17 View project Indigenous Pacific Approaches to Climate Change View project Jennifer Joy Bryant‐Tokalau in her article “Poverty in Fiji: Who are the urban poor?” the author notes that “one in every right people residing in Suva was a squatter settlement resident, where access to basic amenities such as water and electricity were limited. Tokalau notes that 56.7 percent of people living in squatters where Indo-Fijians, 39.6 percent Fijians, while the rest comprised of other races (Bryant-Tokalau, 2006). If squatter settlements are to be viewed as a base for poverty, then it can be implied that the two major races in Fiji live in poverty.

In economic aspects, those who lived in squatters were mostly employed in the informal sector. The ability to save money were extremely challenging as people spent more in a week, than they could save (Bryant-Tokalau, 2006). Earning around 50-70 dollars a week (Bryant-Tokalau, 2006) is surely not enough for a family of nine to ten people. If there are sick or elderly people in the house, it is added extra cost for the family to cater for the person’s travel and treatment at medical clinics. Local or international remittances played a vital role for the poor as family and friends from villages or overseas sent money to their loved ones. It is fascinating to know that remittances were sent locally although we did not have digital mechanisms as we have today. According to a 1991 survey cited by Tokalau, whatever the poor saved was spent on paying school fees for their children, repaying credit to grocery store owners, or paying utility bills. Hence, they did not get the opportunity to invest in land or house purchasing.

This leads to an interesting question of whether the government assistance schemes are in favor of the poor or not. Miliakere Kaitani’s article “Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Programs in Fiji: Are they Pro-Poor?” clearly indicates that the assistance by the government was not enough to meet the needs of the poor. Kaitani considers assorted reasons for this. Firstly, the government does not want to turn Fiji into a welfare state, as it creates dependency on the state, as well as become unsustainable for the country’s economy to survive (Kaitani, 2007). Agreeably, efforts to reduce poverty have not been successful for Fiji due to the unstable political and economic environment, lack of proper wealth distribution machinery or failure to use project funds for its intended purposes (Kaitani, 2007). While income of Indo-Fijians and ethnic Fijians were almost similar, some viewed the Indo-Fijians as slightly above their other ethnic counterparts by six percent whereas the ethnic Fijians and others dropped by ten percent  (Kumar, n.d.), which could be seen as a driving force for discrimination based on race.

Lastly, “foreign aid” (Gounder, 2007) is critical for a developing country like Fiji. These international aid programs have helped the Fijian economy in the past. Sadly, not much priority was given by the government to secure external funds in poverty alleviation. In fact, Rukmani Gounder, in her article titled “Strengthening Fiji’s national poverty policies in the context of regionalism” notes that the government pored in a lot of money through various grants such as bilateral aid, grant aid, and technical co-operation grant aid had enabled the government to inject funds in areas such as economic infrastructure, production sectors and rural education (Gounder, 2007). However, it is time that the government prioritizes and invests in poverty alleviation programs to ensure poverty gap between the rich and the poor is enclosed.

Conclusion

To conclude, Fiji is a Pacific Island nation that is no stranger to poverty risks. Its small economy and unstable political nature increase the threat of pushing more people into the poverty line. This research paper used neoliberal theoretical perspective to look at poverty in Fiji. It is important to note that after independence, the then administration, introduced race-based policies favoring the ethnic Fijians. This was so evident that it was reflected in the 1990 constitution. Notably, there was a competition like environment between the ethnic Fijians and the Indo-Fijians, despite not being a hug poverty gap between the two.

While the author of this document acknowledges that rural poverty exists in Fiji, it highlights the economic challenges faced by urban dwellers, which indicates people in the city and towns were not immune from poverty. Additionally, the findings suggest that most of the poor families lived in squatter settlements with employment in the informal sector where they survived on a 50-70 dollar per week income, with their expenses being much higher. Those that managed to do savings ended up spending on their Childrens’ school fees, repaying grocery credit or utility bills. They were lucky if investment in land or housing was achieved.

Finally, the failure of the government to prioritize poverty reduction programs and seek foreign assistance in this regard, shows that the government was unwilling to improve on the existing packages. Although it claimed not to make Fiji a welfare state and encouraged traditional method of family support. This does not mean the state is not responsible for the well-being of its citizens.

Thank you for reading. I hope you found this piece of writing interesting and knowledgable.

References

Bryant-Tokalau, J. J., 2006. Poverty in Fiji: Who are the Urban Poor. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, August.13(2).

Feldman, G., 2019. Neoliberalism and poverty: An unbreakable Relationship. In: Routledge International Handbook of Poverty. s.l.:Routledge.

Gounder, R., 2007. Strengthening Fiji’s national poverty policies in the context of regionalism. Pacific Economic Bulletin, 17 January.22(2).

Kaitani, M., 2007. Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Programs in Fiji: Are they Pro Poor?. Fijian Studies: A Journal of Contemporary Fiji, 5(2).

Kumar, S., 2007. Poverty and Affirmative Action Policies in Fiji: Paradigmatic Fault Line. Fijian Studies; A Journal of Contemporary Fiji, 5(2).

Kumar, S., n.d. Introduction: Poverty in Fiji- Evidence from Recent Data. Fijian Studies: A Journal of Contemporary Fiji, 5(2).

Walle, D. V. D. W. &. K. N. ed., 1995. The Political Economy o Targeting. In: Public Spendingand the Poor: Theory and Evidence. s.l.:World Bank, pp. 12-13.