The Finance Ministry has ordered a 30 percent cut in fuel consumption for all government vehicles and authorised immediate on-the-spot impounding for misuse, in a circular issued on April 2 by Finance permanent secretary Shiri Gounder. The move, Gounder says, is part of “proactive measures” to manage rising costs triggered by what he describes as a major risk to global fuel supply from the conflict in the Middle East, which has driven domestic fuel price increases.
The directive sets out a number of specific measures ministries and agencies must implement straightaway. Drivers are required to switch off government vehicles for any waiting time beyond one minute, and use of government cars after hours must be approved in advance by respective Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments. The circular also bars vehicle backups across government fleets, with the sole exceptions being motorcades for the President and the Prime Minister.
Enforcement will be stepped up, the Finance Ministry said. Gounder instructed that breaches be monitored in cooperation with the Fiji Police Force and the Land Transport Authority, and warned that strict disciplinary action would follow infringements. The ministry signalled it will closely monitor vehicle use and fuel consumption and that further, more specific directives will be issued if the required reductions are not achieved.
Gounder framed the clampdown as the first phase of broader cost control. “Overall cost pressures are anticipated across the board and Government is starting with proactive measures to reduce its controllable costs,” he wrote in the circular, linking the urgency of the measures to projected further domestic fuel price rises. He also said the ministry is considering additional steps — including grounding a number of government vehicles — should the initial measures prove insufficient.
The circular arrives against wider government messaging on fiscal restraint. Finance Ministry officials and ministers have previously emphasised the need to rein in controllable expenditure as part of efforts to manage national debt and ensure fiscal sustainability. The new vehicle and fuel controls are the most concrete operational measures announced so far to translate that policy into day‑to‑day savings across public service operations.
Practical implications for departments will include new approval workflows for after‑hours travel, tighter supervision of driver conduct, and closer monitoring of fuel usage data. The ministry did not specify compliance deadlines, quotas per ministry, or how the 30 percent reduction target will be measured and reported; it said those details would follow if cuts are not met. It also did not list exemptions beyond the stated heads-of-state and head-of-government arrangements.
The Finance Ministry’s circular takes effect immediately from April 2. Government agencies have been told to implement the measures and to prepare for enforcement activity by police and the Land Transport Authority; further instructions and compliance metrics are expected from the ministry if the initial round of savings targets are not reached.
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