Parveen Kumar, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, has strongly criticized the Coalition Government for failing to commit to the construction of a new sugar mill in Rakiraki, branding the government’s promises during the 2022 elections as “misleading.”
Nitya Reddy, the chairman of the Fiji Sugar Corporation, recently stated that the company is still conducting due diligence and plans to make an announcement in six months.
Kumar expressed that the election pledge to rebuild the Rakiraki sugar mill now appears to be nothing but empty words aimed at securing votes without any genuine intentions. He called the commitment to restoring the Penang mill a betrayal to the people of Rakiraki and the sugar industry as a whole.
He pointed out that the Coalition Government made significant promises regarding the mill’s revival while ignoring the ongoing reasons for its closure, such as decreasing sugar production and rising operational costs. Reddy emphasized that rather than providing practical solutions, the government has opted to mislead farmers with hollow assurances.
Kumar added that the government’s broken promises are undermining trust and threatening the future of the sugar industry.
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