With our state finances run into the ground, Economy Minister Sayed-Khaiyum is knocking on every available door to access money.
He left for the COP26 summit in Glasgow earlier this week with the avowed aim of extracting billions out of the Climate Finance coffers under the so-called objective of mitigation, adaptation and climate financing.
The Pacific’s Champion of the Oceans accompanied by PM Bainimarama, the COP23 President, slipped out of the country heading a huge delegation of some 36 support staff without as much as a statement to the nation about what they aim to achieve at the global summit.
The small islands of the Pacific are directly threatened by rising sea waters caused by global warming. But only four Pacific states – Fiji, PNG, Palau and Marshall Is are attending the conference.
Even New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden opted not to go, sending instead her Environment Minister James Shaw while Australia’s Scott Morrison only opted to do so at the last minute, reportedly under heavy pressure.
Surprisingly, Environment Minister Dr Mahendra Reddy is not part of the Fiji contingent despite the fact that after the initial speeches by world leaders, the conference will break up into business sessions usually headed by the various environment ministers.
Instead, our top duo are accompanied by their permanent secretaries, Yogesh Karan and Shiri Gounder.
By all reckoning world leaders at COP26 will be meeting under extreme pressure to find solutions for the imminent world crisis that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres describes as “a code red for humanity” and a hellish future”.
How our two leaders intend to contribute to the top level discussions is anybody’s guess as they have not thought it fit to inform our people of what strategies they intend to put to the conference to justify the heavy expenditure of the trip.
All we know is that they will ask for a hell of a lot more money to mitigate the effects of Climate Change.
The Economy Minister says that Fiji, and the Pacific, I guess, are receiving less than 1% of the global climate finance despite being among the most vulnerable communities.
That is all very well.
But where are the funds going?
My concern here is what is happening to all these funds that are being received with the expressed aim of reducing the impact of Climate change – rising sea levels, flooding, devastation by cyclones etc.
In 2017, government had boasted about being among the first countries to take out a $500m Green Bond.
There is no accountability for how or where money from the bond was used.
The Auditor General has commented that some of it may have been used for purposes other than Green.
Then there is the millions collected from the Environment Climate Adaptation Levy (ECAL). For all we know the millions collected are simply credited to government revenue.
Early this year, the Economy Minister borrowed $2 billion over a four year term from the World Bank Group through the Country Partnership Framework (CPF).
In a statement released on 21 January 2021, the World Bank said the new framework was aimed at “boosting the Fijian economy and strengthening its fiscal, climate and social resilience following the impacts of two tropical cyclones, and the devastating fall-out from the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Part of the focus it said was to “improve emergency planning and increase resilient infrastructure … strengthen community resilience to climate and public health emergencies; and provide social assistance to help families and businesses that are in critical need”.
In March this year the World Bank released $F300m to support Fiji’s efforts to recover from the impact of COVID-19 and the two devastating category five cyclones — Yasa and Ana — that ripped through vast areas of Vanua Levu and parts of Rakiraki.
Yet how much of this money was actually used to provide relief to the victims of the two cyclones?
People were left stranded
The people of Vanua Levu suffered severe wind and flood damage.
According to official records over 8000 homes were completely or partially destroyed. Damage to agricultural crops, including sugar cane, was estimated at $150m with the total loss put at $500m.
Most affected families were left to fend for themselves. TC Yasa struck on December 17, 2020.
A week later when I visited the devastated areas of Labasa and Seaqaqa, I was told that the farmers were still waiting for government assistance.
People were upset and very uncertain about their future. Many had lost everything they owned.
They were anxiously waiting to be informed about Government’s assistance package.
Yet no help was forthcoming from the Government. NGOs and community groups provided food rations and other forms of relief.
PM Bainimarama did travel around the North with an entourage of 15 vehicles all brought from Suva and some select ministers.
He passed around a few food packs but most people I visited claimed government assistance had not reached them.
Similarly with COVID-19 most of those affected through loss of jobs and closure of businesses were told to fend for themselves.
About 180,000 FNPF members were forced to withdraw money from their pension savings to cope with the crisis. Total funds withdrawn stand at $180m (RBF Economic Review September 2021).
The end result being 52,000 members now have zero balances in their accounts. What will be their fate when they retire?
Environmental issues ignored
This is another area of serious concern. While our top brass go junketing around the world seeking funds from Climate Finance to preserve our natural habitat including the oceans, at home serious damage to the environment is either being ignored or even sanctioned under some approved development projects.
The colossal damage to the foreshore and marine ecology at Malolo Island by Freesoul Real Estate is one case that immediately springs to mind.
For almost eight months, the company was allowed to operate illegally in defiance of several stop work orders issued by the Department of Environment.
It was not until the damage to the environment was exposed by journalists from New Zealand, that Government was forced to take Freesoul to court for undertaking illegal construction works.
Freesoul was charged with operating illegally but the case took almost two years to conclude.
It was found guilty early this month. The matter, however, is still in abeyance awaiting sentencing by the high court.
There are other well known cases of Government allowing commercial development activities which have wreaked untold damage on the environment.
Astonishingly, for instance, the foreign company mining bauxite in Bua was allowed to take shiploads of soil from the site for ore extraction in China.
Mining has now stopped but the site is left with a huge gaping pit as evidence of environmental degradation.
The FF government is also known for allowing the largest number of foreshore development — in most cases without proper environmental impact studies leading to extensive damage to mangrove reserves, and the depletion of marine and coral life.
Cases of indiscriminate extraction of gravel and sand from our rivers have from time to time been exposed by the local media revealing damage to the local ecology and the food resources of nearby villagers.
Such apparent utter lack of concern for the preservation and sustainability of our land and sea resources and the environment makes one wonder what criteria was used to nominate Fiji’s Climate Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum as Pacific’s Champion of the Oceans.
- MAHENDRA CHAUDHRY is the leader of the Fiji Labour Party and a former prime minister of Fiji. The views expressed in this article are his and not of this newspaper.
