Opposition MP Faiyaz Koya told Parliament last week that Fiji is “driving around in circles” under the Coalition Government, accusing ministers of presiding over three years of confusion rather than the forward movement voters were promised in 2022. Speaking during debate on the President’s address, Koya used a vehicle analogy to argue that ordinary Fijians — workers, farmers, small business owners, students and families — have yet to see meaningful progress.
“We were asked to get into the car and we were told we would be driven towards a more prosperous, fair and transparent future,” Koya said. “Three years later, the passengers are looking out the window and asking various questions. Are we even moving?” He added pointedly, “Thirty-six months later, we are still getting the blame game every time Parliament begins,” accusing the government of repeating the “same scenery, the same arguments, the same confusion — round and round.”
Koya also reminded MPs that the coalition which took office after the 2022 general election did so without an outright majority, a detail he said had left many voters cautious from the start. That initial fragility, he argued, has translated into a governing approach dominated by political point-scoring rather than the delivery of services and economic progress that citizens expected when they backed a change of government.
The intervention is the latest public rebuke from the Opposition as the coalition passes the three-year mark in office. It follows a string of moments that critics say have dented the government’s reputation — from controversy over a high-profile dinner hosted by the Prime Minister in mid-2024 to heated parliamentary exchanges over foreign policy and other matters — incidents that Koya and others point to as evidence of distraction and disunity. He framed his remarks around the President’s address debate, a regular parliamentary occasion when lawmakers evaluate the executive’s stated priorities and hold it to account.
Koya’s speech underlines growing impatience among some sections of the public, he said, who are increasingly asking whether the promised journey has begun at all. The Opposition MP appealed to the narrative of ordinary citizens as “passengers” whose confidence must be earned through visible progress, not prolonged political wrangling.
There was no immediate response recorded from the Coalition Government to Koya’s latest critique. Government ministers have previously defended their record by pointing to policy initiatives and budgetary commitments made since 2022, but the Opposition’s line of attack shows that political tension over performance and accountability remains a central theme in parliamentary debate as the administration moves into the second half of its term.
Koya’s remarks are likely to shape opposition messaging in upcoming sittings, where members will continue to press for concrete evidence of progress on jobs, livelihoods and public services — the very measures he says would reassure the “passengers” that the country is finally moving forward.
Leave a comment