More than 130,000 Fijians will receive a 50 percent top‑up to their social welfare payments over the next three months after Cabinet approved a $24 million support package designed to ease cost‑of‑living pressures, Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran announced on Tuesday. The assistance, aimed at cushioning vulnerable households from rising costs tied to recent fuel price increases, will reach 130,157 recipients across six social protection programmes, with payments expected to land in nominated bank accounts by April 28.
Minister Kiran revealed the details while opening the National Validation Workshop for the Fiji Poverty Alleviation Strategy Framework 2026–2030, framing the boost as both an immediate relief measure and part of broader work to strengthen the country’s social safety net. “I have been advised by our teams that the payments will be reaching recipients’ nominated accounts by the 28th of April. We hope this will help families budget and purchase thoughtfully with likely price hikes on imported goods by next month,” she said.
The package represents a targeted, short‑term intervention to blunt the impact of fuel‑related price increases on household essentials. Officials said the top‑up will be disbursed automatically to those already enrolled in the six programmes, though they did not name the individual schemes when announcing the measure. The government estimates the support will cost $24 million in total and cover the three‑month period of assistance.
Kiran used the platform of the poverty strategy workshop to stress that the extra funds should be deployed with long‑term resilience in mind. She encouraged beneficiaries to prioritise food security and to consider investments that could reduce vulnerability over time, including re‑establishing home gardens — a practice many households adopted during the COVID‑19 pandemic. “Establishing food security should not only be for times of crisis but a steady source of nutrition, as malnutrition and non‑communicable diseases also contribute to poverty,” she said.
The move comes against a backdrop of broader fiscal and economic pressures. Earlier national budget coverage this year highlighted the government’s forecasts of strong tax revenue and the need to manage a rising public debt burden, but households continue to face price pressures, particularly on imported goods and fuel. The welfare top‑up is the latest policy response intended to shield the most vulnerable while longer‑term measures — including the poverty alleviation strategy now being validated — are finalised.
Officials describe the support as part of an evolving package of social protection measures aimed at improving household resilience amid ongoing economic uncertainty. With payments scheduled to begin reaching accounts by April 28, the government is signalling an urgent, time‑limited effort to soften the immediate shock from transport and import cost rises, while the National Validation Workshop advances planning for sustained poverty reduction through 2030.
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