A government official has for the first time disclosed the alarming number of iTaukei population living in extreme poverty.
Permanent Secretary for iTaukei Affairs Pita Tagicakirewa revealed that 193,000 people fall into the category of extreme poverty. Tagicakirewa clarified that the widely discussed figure of 75 percent refers to the proportion of iTaukei living in extreme poverty in Fiji, not the overall poverty rate.
The statement was made during the Resource Owners Forum at Harbour Point convention centre in Lami yesterday.
“In Fiji, 238,000 people are living in extreme poverty, and 75 percent of that number are iTaukei, which corresponds to 193,000 people,” said Tagicakirewa. “Extreme poverty is defined as living on $1.25 a day, an international benchmark.”
Vani Catanasiga, the executive director of the Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS), cited the lack of political will as a contributing factor to the problem. She emphasized the urgent need to address flaws in accountability and oversight for sub-national agencies mandated to serve the iTaukei population.
“We’ve advocated for this based on numerous surveys conducted across various divisions from 2020 to 2023,” Catanasiga stated. “FCOSS believes that if stakeholders don’t fully understand the constraints on access and agency within the structures used to deliver development to vulnerable populations such as the iTaukeis, Fiji will never achieve its vision of a prosperous economy.”
Catanasiga noted that the issue doesn’t solely lie with the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs. “It could also mean that the department is not receiving the necessary interagency support to tackle the complex challenges keeping iTaukeis in poverty. The issues could arise from policy limitations, territoriality, or lack of capacity.”