Fiji will prosper if we get rid of racism in the country - PM

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama stressed that he has no doubt in his mind that Fiji will prosper if we get rid of racism in the country.

While making a statement on the opposition’s motion earlier this week to reinstate the Great Council of Chiefs, Bainimarama said today that the GCC was an undemocratic entity in the country that brought about racial discrimination.

He said the GCC was established by the British administration in 1876, two years after the Deed of Cession, and it was not indigenous at all.

Bainimarama said the chiefs will stay in their positions and the GCC is a different issue.

He stressed that the government will look after everyone in the country.

Bainimarama said the timing of the opposition’s motion is also a major concern.

The Prime Minister said the government believes that the Itaukei people can make decisions for themselves rather than bringing the GCC back to make the decisions for them. 

Bainimarama also stressed in his statement that the GCC was not the stabilising influence in 1987 and 2000 as claimed by the opposition.

While responding to the statement, Opposition Leader Ro Teimumu Kepa said it is discriminatory to call the GCC racist and elitist.

Speaking on Tropical Cyclone Winston, Ro Teimumu said that SODELPA parliamentarians have donated 10 percent of their salaries towards the recovery efforts.