Work on Fiji’s National Development Plan (NDP) continues, building on economic summit outcomes and policy initiatives including the manifestos of the country’s Coalition Government parties.
This plan, spanning 3, 5, and 20-year periods, originated during the 2023 National Economic Summit. Thematic Working Groups (TWG), established during the same summit, recently reconvened to discuss progress and consider a nationwide consultation on the NDP.
A nationwide consultation is scheduled for early February, with details still being ironed out.
Vani Catanasiga, Chair of the Social Protection and Employment Creation TWG, highlighted the importance of engaged participatory dialogue.
Since the TWG Update last week, Catanasiga met briefly with PIANGO to explore opportunities for a one-day CSO Roundtable on the NDP to ensure that the Fiji NGO sector can contribute and participate meaningfully in the process.
“The meeting was fruitful in that PIANGO confirmed that they would be able to support a one day roundtable to allow us as NGOs/CSOs to hear from Ministry of Finance as a sector about the process, begin looking at a sectoral submission while also encouraging organisational contributions and supporting community participation in the public consultation period, linking national development goals with regional and global development goals such as the Pacific 2050 strategy and the SDGs and emphasising localisation by leveraging lessons learnt from sub national development work experiences to ensure a people-centred NDP.
The roundtable is tentatively scheduled for the first week of February.
The new NDP will integrate insights from the Peoples Alliance Party (PAP), National Federation Party (NFP), and the Social Democratic Liberal Party manifestos, as well as consider outcomes from the Economic Summit and the Fiscal Review Committee report.
The other TWG include that for:
- a) Macroeconomic Management
- b) Key growth sectors
- c) Governance and reforms
- d) Human Development – chaired by FWRM ED, Nalini
- e) Rural & Outer Island Development
- f) Land Based Activities
- g) Marine Based Activities- chaired by CI Pacific Director, Susana Waqainabete
- h) Technology
- i) Indigenous participation in development
- j) Infrastructure Development, Public Utilities, Environment and Climate Change
