Fiji’s democracy 2022, a complex situation

During my week visit in July 2022, most of the indigenous Fijians working at the resort I spoke to expressed dissatisfaction with recent developments.

Most wanted a new government, several expressed concerns that recent economic development favoured Chinese interests who were consumed by profits with little regard to local concerns, some wanted the village chiefs to have more influence, and all noted that their wages were not keeping pace with rampant inflation.

Indeed, after a gym attendant indicated that his rather old running shoes were donated by a tourist because he could not afford them, my visit to a local city of Sigatoka observed how little basic food and goods could be bought by the hotel’s hospitality workers (mostly indigenous) who earn just over $5 Fijian per hour, hardly in line with the pretty high restaurant and facility prices that the resort charges.  

For example, my partner had a $130 massage, yet the worker only received about $5 Fijian.    

While I spoke to a couple of Fijians of Indian ethnicity, with one noting that Fijians were discouraged from talking about politics, they were more satisfied with the current government and the status quo, although one declared that the politicians looks after themselves and needed to do more to help poorer Fijians.

It remains to be seen how events play out after the next election in Fiji given that major cultural and economic differences persist between the indigenous and Indian ethnicities of Fiji.