TOWARD A
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR FIJI ISLANDS
Discussion
Paper
Prepared
by:
January
1994
Thursday 27 Jan 94
Fiji Teachers Union Center
Berry Rd (off Des Veoux Rd)
Implications of the Manila
Declaration on social Development for Fiji: Toward the Elimination of Absolute
Poverty, Distributive Justice and Enhanced Popular Participation
1.0 Overview
of the Social/Human Development Situation in Fiji
The Manila Declaration on social
Development enjoins countries in the ESCAP region to work towards
-
eradication of absolute poverty;
-
realization of distributive justice;
-
and enhancement of popular participation in development.
To determine the implications of
the Declaration on the social development situation in Fiji, it is necessary to
review prevailing conditions and assess current development needs.
The UNDP Human Development
Report 1993 ranks Fiji as number 71 amongst a total of 173 industrial and developing
countries rated according to human development indicators of life expectancy,
education and income. Its performance
in practically all the indicators (life expectancy; access to health services,
safe water and sanitation; daily calorie supply, adult literacy, combined
primary and secondary enrolment, GNP/GDP per capita) is higher than the average
for Southeast Asia and Oceania region, as well as for many developing
countries.
With its Human Development Index
or HDIO of 0.730, Fiji is at the upper portion (number 16) amongst 35 countries
classified as having medium human development.
Over the last ten years, Fiji has made tremendous strides in social and
economic development, which have accounted for its noteworthy performance in
human development as compared with those of other countries within and outside
the region.
2.0 Current
Problems or Threats to Human Development in Fiji
There are certain problems or
threats to human development which the country has to deal with if it has to
further improve or maintain its noteworthy performance in achieving human
progress-
a. Despite
tremendous gains in the health sector, some problems remain requiring more
resources and attention. Respiratory
and gastro-intestinal diseases are still a major cause of infant death. Avoidable cardio-vascular diseases and
diabetes, on the other hand, are on a steady rise. Child malnutrition is still a major concern. Dengue fever and
influenza break out now and then to epidemic proportions. Any further budget shortfall will mean less
vaccines, much-needed medicines and services for remote rural communities.
b. In
education, gender participation is almost equal in both primary (48.6% females)
and secondary (49.8%) levels. Primary enrollments reflect no rural-urban
disparity, but 62% of secondary enrollments are in urban areas, which make up
only 39% of the population. Since the
greater bulk of secondary enrollments are from the rural areas, it means
families pay more to send their children to secondary schools.
Although
parents do not pay tuition fees for primary education, they contribute directly
for school uniform, books and supplies.
Parents raise funds for school construction and maintenance costs. For secondary education, parents pay close
to 30% of the total costs (or F$270 yearly per student).
NGO
resources in education are remarkable.
Of the 820 primary and secondary schools, only 26 are run by
government. Local communities operate
75% of private schools, while some 27 NGOs, mostly religious groups, run the
rest.
A significant
increase in budgetary allocations, NGO and family resources and external
assistance will be needed to enable the education sector to cope with current
problems:
-
Pupil-teacher ratios remain low by international standard.
-
Dropout rates at primary level, for the first six years of
schooling, have doubled from 1979 (7.1%) to 1989 (14.8%). Dropouts are high during Forms 1 – 4 (30%)
and are even higher for the rest of the secondary years.
-
Less than 50% of Class I reach For 5 and only 25% complete
12 years of schooling.
-
A slight decline in secondary school enrolment has been
noted in recent years, but the schools are full, indicating that construction
of school buildings has not kept pace with the demand. More schools will have to be built in the rural
areas, along with other facilities, e.g. teacher’s quarters.
c. Fiji’s
population has grown from 719,000 in 1988 to 746,000 in 1991, an annual growth
rate of 1.2%. A further decrease has
been projected, while emigration is assumed to be declining for the period 1992
to 1996. Labor force is expected to
increase by 5,750 a year. Most of these
are young people aged 15 to 24 who constitute 24% of the total population.
In 1986,
young people aged 15 to 24 accounted for 75% of the unemployed. Around 85% of the unemployed had some
secondary or higher education.
Indications are that the same trend exists today.
Yearly
income per head increased by around 40% over the period 1987 to 1990, from
F$2500. The increase in real terms,
however, was only about 17%. Income per
head rose sharply during the period due to the devaluation of the Fiji dollar,
the rise in GDP and the slower growth in population caused by higher migration
rates.
d. Agriculture
accounts for 47% of total employment.
While the sector’s contribution to the GDP fell from 22.4% in 1986 to
19.6% in 1990, the decline does not reflect decrease in output. It merely shows rapid growth in other
sectors, i.e. garment, fishing and forestry.
e. Due to
the thrust towards increased production, agriculture is gradually expanding
into marginal hill areas and steep lands.
This trend will worsen soil erosion in many areas. Rivers and streams will be further silted. Thus aside from poor harvest on account of
thin topsoil, there is the persistent threat to rich marine life.
Increased
agricultural production has led also to reclamation of vast mangrove areas,
which also pose a serious threat to marine ecosystems. Most of the country’s 600 villages depend on
coastal fishing for their main protein source.
f.
Since the mid-Sixties, around 13% of the country’s forests
have been converted to non-forest land use.
Severe deforestation exists in some parts of the country, which
endangers wildlife and also worsens soil erosion, thereby posing a threat to
food production and livelihood opportunities.
3.0 Initiatives
So Far Undertaken in Support of Social/Human Development
In pursuing social/human
development objectives, the government of Fiji and its people has already
committed themselves to the spirit and intent of the Manila Declaration.
The following major initiatives
have been undertaken in Fiji in response to the foregoing situation:
a. The
Government and the various NGOs are jointly addressing early symptoms of
poverty. Attempts have been made to
determine the extent of poverty, but there has been the lack of most recent
information to base estimates on the number of households living in absolute or
relative poverty.
Estimates
of poverty line (or the cash requirement below which a household will be unable
to meet its basic requirements for survival) have ranged from F$58 to F$115.05
a week. Nevertheless a joint
government-NGO task force said in 1991 that the rural poor are those who do not
own, or have access to, natural resources; assets such as a house, land,
cattle, pigs, chickens, etc.; or those who lack the knowledge and skills to
acquire livelihood.
It
further noted that most of the poor are in rural villages and settlements
(Solomon/Pacific Islander settlements; Indian landless cane-cutters). The urban poor, on the other hand, are
mostly found in squatter areas and in a few urban villages. The urban poor also include the unemployed,
the self-employed (food sellers, shoe-shiners, etc.), and those in casual and
low-paid regular employment.
The Fiji
government has proposed that the UNDP Equitable and Sustainable Human
Development Programme include in its activities an in-depth poverty study to
provide policymakers, planners and implementers of anti-poverty programmes a
more qualitative and quantitative description of specific population groups
relatively more disadvantaged by socio-economic conditions.
b. There
has been a wide variety of NGOs and networks working directly with
disadvantaged communities and groups, and assisted by many service clubs. These entities play a complementary role in
providing services o communities and groups not usually reached by government
efforts. This role has been duly
acknowledge and recognized by government.
The Fiji Council of Social Services coordinates the activities of most
of these NGOs.
c. It has
been recognized that women are underutilized in the development process despite
their constituting about half of the total population (and about half the
working age population). The Department
of Women and Culture was formed in 1987, which has since then spurred the
implementation of projects and training programmes.
d. In 1988,
a Youth Employment Option Center was set up as adjunct to the Ministry of
Youth, Employment Opportunities and Sports, to provide career counseling,
training support and job placement for school leavers and unemployed youth.
e. In 1992,
the government established a F$7 million Poverty Alleviation Fund to directly
assist the poor in setting up livelihood projects and to improve housing. The funding facility is aside from funds for
disadvantaged groups available through the various sectoral programmes.
f. Budget
allocations for social welfare services increased from $2.36 million in 1988 to
$3.08 million in 1991. The Department
of Social Welfare administers the fund to reach destitute families, young
offenders, abused children, etc. with much-needed services.
g. Fiji has
formulated a National Environment Strategy based on a comprehensive assessment
of the national state of the environment.
The government appointed a Minister of State for the Environment in
1992.
h. Finally,
in May 1993, the government announced new policies and strategies contained in
Parliamentary Paper No. 2, entitled Opportunities for Growth. While the focus is on economic
diversification and export-led growth strategy, the paper also provides for
poverty alleviation; support to the youth, women and other disadvantaged
groups; promotion of sustainable development; and a “strong orientation towards
rural areas.”
4.0 Towards
Formulating Social/Human Development Strategy for Fiji
There is a growing recognition
amongst policymakers, planers and programme implementers both in government and
the NGO community that current efforts in meeting the threats to social and
human development need a cohesive response.
Piecemeal solutions will not do.
Independent initiatives without a guiding visor will merely fail. We need a potent strategy to counter
emerging problems which threaten Fiji’s major gains in the pursuit of
social/human development objectives.
To formulate such strategy, we
should ensure that:
1. Scarce
funding resources go to real needs, to those who have less in life, to support
priority human concerns to protect enhance or regenerate the environment;
2. New
groups or those neglected in the development process are involved: women, young
people, entrepreneurs, indigenous peoples, those who are more burdened by
social and economic problems, remote rural communities, or those in
disadvantaged sections of urban centers;
3. Common
responsibilities are defined and new ways sought amongst development partners
to pool resources together and use them more effectively for human well-being;
4. Global
concerns – in environment, population, disease control, and migration – are
addressed through combined efforts of meeting local needs and ensuring access
to technology and financing;
5. People-centered
development programmes and projects are given prompt, adequate and relevant
policy support;
6. External
and macroeconomic forces – trade, debt management, foreign direct investment
and capital flows, and access technology – are made supportive of sustainable
human development objectives;
7. Markets are made more pole-friendly to
broaden access to trade and the cash economy;
8. A
healthy social, cultural and economic environment is fostered for the full
exercise of human rights;
9. Measures
are pursued to attack the root causes of conflicts which threatened human
security;
10. Capacities
are built at government and community levels for sustainable human development.
Through
these 10 guideposts, we can be sure that the social/human development strategy
that will be formulated for Fiji will be truly people-centered, participatory
and sustainable. Its formulation will
require not only the willing and substantive participation of the government
and all the people, but most importantly the forging of all development
concerns in Fiji.
On
behalf of the UNDP Equitable and Sustainable Human Development Programme, we
are committed to work with you towards this end.