Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Filimoni Vosarogo has told Fijians they should take land and resource concerns directly to his ministry rather than airing them through the social media posts of opposition MP Ketan Lal, delivering a public rebuke during parliamentary debate this week.
Speaking in Parliament during the motion thanking Speaker Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu for his address, Vosarogo said members of the public have “direct access” to him and his officials. “To the public, you do not have to speak to the honourable Ketan Lal to talk to me via his Facebook post,” the minister said. “I am available to talk to you and my staff are also prepared to talk to you.”
The minister’s comments aimed to curb what he portrayed as a tendency for some concerns to be circulated online rather than channeled through formal ministry avenues. Vosarogo told MPs he expects officials within the Lands Ministry to be “vigilant and responsive” when dealing with stakeholder requests, stressing that the ministry’s doors and staff are ready to engage with the public directly.
Vosarogo used his contribution to also criticise the quality of some parliamentary interventions made in response to the President’s address. He said a number of MPs delivered thoughtful contributions that addressed government policy and future programmes and used concrete examples to highlight system weaknesses — approaches he called “acceptable and constructive.” But, he said, other contributions merely paid “lip service” to the speech before veering into unrelated grievances.
“We must not treat the occasion like another day in Parliament,” Vosarogo told the House, urging colleagues to raise their standards in future responses to the President’s roadmap. He called for debate that remains anchored in national policy direction and priorities, arguing that constructive, issue-focused discussion would better serve Fiji and its people.
The exchange highlights tensions over how public concerns are raised and handled in the digital age, and the minister’s intervention is the latest development in a broader conversation about accessibility, accountability and the role of social media in political discourse. Vosarogo’s remarks put a spotlight on expectations for both ministry responsiveness and the tone of parliamentary debate as MPs consider how best to engage with citizens and scrutinise government policy.
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