Ratu Ralawa Samuela Tabakau Raleqe

🗣️ To my fellow Mataqali members — we need to talk.

We are a Mataqali landowner. The land we leasing is our own Mataqali land — passed down through generations, held in trust for our children. Or so I thought.

In 2021, there was a small win. The government finally removed TLTB's chokehold over mortgages, charges, and caveats on our leases. For once, it felt like someone in Suva remembered that the land belongs to us , not to a boardroom in Nasese.

But here's what they didn't fix — and what this current Government is perfectly happy to leave untouched.

Under the Native Land Trust (Leases and Licences) Regulations 1984, if we want to clear our own land, build on it, put up a fence, dig a drain, or even plant long-lived crops — we still have to get down on our knees and ask TLTB for written permission.

Not our Turaga ni Yavusa. Not our Mataqali elders. TLTB.

They didn't reinstate this. They just never had the courage to abolish it. And by keeping it alive, this Government has dragged us back to an era when we were still wearing vaus and drauniqai — a time when our land was "protected" by outsiders who treated us like children who couldn't be trusted with our own soil.

It is 2026. We are the native landowners. We hold the title. Yet we cannot plant a tree or build a shed without a statutory body — created in 1940 — telling us yes or no.

What does "ownership" even mean if someone else holds the pen that approves our future?

The 2021 amendment was a glimpse of what respect looks like. But this Government has left us stranded in the past, still asking permission to breathe on our own land.

If the land truly belongs to the Mataqali, why does someone else still hold the keys?

Tag a landowner who needs to see this. 🌴🇫🇯

Based on the media statement, the landowners of Tokatoka Nasau and the Vanua o Nalolo have received a total of FJD $5,209,029.32.

📢 Let's Get the Facts Straight: Momi Bay Land Swap & the 1997 Constitution 🏝️

Hey everyone! 👋 Following the recent video featuring the son of Taukei Nasau discussing the Momi Bay land swap, I wanted to share some important factual corrections based on documented history. Let's keep it real and accurate! 💯

📜 1. The 1997 Constitution & the Land Swap Loophole:

The 1997 Constitution did protect iTaukei land through Section 30 ✅, which recognized ownership according to Fijian custom. BUT — and this is a big but — it had a silent loophole 🤫.

The Constitution didn't specifically address "land swaps," which allowed iTaukei land to be converted to State land and then to freehold title through administrative processes. This gap in the law made the Momi Bay swap legally possible at the time. 📋

The actual swap converting the land to freehold happened in 2006 under the Qarase government (2001–2006) 🗳️, though the process had roots in earlier arrangements.

🏨 2. The "Momi Decree" & FNPF Takeover:

After the 2006 political changes and the abrogation of the 1997 Constitution, the Bainimarama government issued decrees that transferred the struggling Momi Bay development to the Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) 💰.

The private development had collapsed, so the State stepped in and vested it in FNPF to get the project completed. 🏗️.

The beautiful Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay opened in April 2017 🎉 — a 250-room, 5-star resort with 22 overwater bures! It's 100% owned by FNPF and managed by Marriott International. 🌴✨

📈 3. FNPF's Investment Growth:

The numbers speak for themselves! 📊 As of FY2025:

FNPF's hotel portfolio is valued at approximately $1.2 billion 💵

Momi Bay Resort alone declared **26 million in dividends** in FY2025 (41 million over two years!) 🤑

The resort has won global awards, including "World's Best New Overwater Resort" 🏆🌊

🤝 4. Why This Matters:
The Momi Bay landowners and iTaukei community were treated unfairly in this whole saga — that's a fact many feel deeply 😔. The land swap happened under one government, the FNPF takeover under another.

Both chapters remain hotly debated in our political memory. 🔥

I'm sharing this NOT to defend any party 🙅‍♂️, but because the public deserves to know what actually happened — straight from constitutional texts, FNFP reports, and official records.

📚✅📚 Sources:

▶️Fiji Times: Constitutional analysis of the 1997 loophole

▶️FNPF Annual Report 2017 & FY2025 Financial Highlights

▶️US State Department Investment Climate Statement

▶️FNPF Subsidiaries & Hotel Properties official pages

▶️Hotel Management Australia: Marriott Momi Bay confirmation.

Let's keep the conversation honest and informed! 🗣️💬

🇫🇯 🏝️ 🔄 📜 💰 ✅ 🌿 📖

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1JK3vqdn4u/

The only way to win this upcoming General Election is to unit. iTaukei voters sa levu dina noda party. CAU bau dua madaga?

Its easy to change the 2013 Constitution. Simply vote in a Party that goes in with 75% votes. The hard part is us uniting.

A 4.87 Billion Budget, a1.07 Billion Deficit, and a Government That Still Refuses to Lead by Example 💰📉

An opinion from someone on the ground in Fiji 🇫🇯
Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel is confident 😊. He told the Fiji Sun that he does not expect any "major issues" when Parliament debates his maiden 4.237 billion Appropriation Bill this week 🏛️. Total expenditure sits at4.87 billion 💵. The fiscal deficit is $1.07 billion — seven per cent of GDP 📊. The reason, he says, is the ongoing global fuel crisis ⛽.

"We're still experiencing the fuel crisis, whether it's a supply question or even the pricing – we are operating in that environment for this Budget," he said 🗣️.

Fair enough. The fuel crisis is real ⛽. The deficit is real 📉. The economic pressure is real 💔.

But here is what is also real — and what Minister Immanuel's confidence does not seem to account for:
▶️In remote rural Macuata, primary school students are too afraid to walk to school 🚶‍♂️😰 because transport providers have stopped picking them up 🚌❌. Fuel prices have made it unsustainable ⛽💸. These children are not operating "in that environment." They are drowning in it 🌊😢.

▶️Across our communities, people are being evicted from their homes 🏠❌. Not because they refuse to work, but because the cost of living has outpaced their ability to survive 💔. And where is the government assistance? Nowhere to be found 🚫🏛️. The safety net that should exist for the most vulnerable has been pulled away, leaving families to fend for themselves in an economy that shows them no mercy 😔.

▶️Our students — the very generation we claim to invest in 📚👧👦 — are living on a "stable diet" of hardship, trying to make ends meet while their leaders enjoy the comforts of office 🍽️😞. How can we expect young minds to thrive when their basic needs are not met?

▶️Even those sworn to protect us are not immune 👮‍♂️💔. Police officers, entrusted with our safety, are being compromised by low salaries 💰❌. When those who uphold the law cannot live with dignity on their wages, corruption becomes not an exception but an inevitability 🚨. This is not a failing of individual officers — it is a systemic failure created by those who control the purse strings 🏛️💼.

The list goes on and on 📋😔. And through it all, one glaring truth remains: our government ministers refuse to downsize ❌📉.

🔆A $1.07 Billion Deficit — And Still No Sacrifice from the Top? 😤💰

Let that number sink in. $1.07 billion in deficit 📉💸. Seven per cent of GDP 📊. And yet, as Parliament sits from 9:30am Monday to Friday, July 17 🏛️🗓️, with twenty-three MPs on the batting order including Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka 🏏👔, not one of them is being asked to tighten their own belt first ❌🤝.

Downsizing the ministerial portfolio is not about punishment 🚫. It is about proportionality ⚖️. It is about recognizing that when the nation is in a $1.07 billion hole, those at the top must lead by example 🏆👇. It is about the fundamental principle that leadership demands sacrifice 💪❤️.

When ministers refuse to reduce their offices, their allowances, their entourages, and their perks 🚗💼🍽️, they are not just making a budgetary decision. They are making a moral statement 🙏❌. And that statement is: "I am first. You are nothing." 🥇😢

Every ministerial vehicle kept 🚗, every unnecessary assistant retained 👤, every inflated allowance maintained 💰 is a direct message to the struggling mother in Macuata 👩‍👧‍👦, to the evicted family 🏠❌, to the hungry student 📚🍽️, to the underpaid officer 👮‍♂️💔: Your suffering is acceptable. Mine is not. 😔💔

The argument that downsizing is impossible or impractical collapses under the simplest scrutiny ❌🧠. When a minister's office is reduced, so too are the related costs — vehicles 🚗, fuel ⛽, staff 👥, travel ✈️, accommodation 🏨, entertainment 🎉. The savings cascade 💰📉. The message resonates 📢❤️. The people see that their leaders are willing to stand with them, not above them 🤝👇.

🔆"We Are Still in a Crisis" — Yes, Minister. And So Are We. 😤💔.

Minister Immanuel said it himself: "We do not expect any major issue because at the end of this budget, we are still in a crisis." 🗣️📉

He is right about one thing. We are in a crisis 🚨. But the crisis is not just global fuel prices ⛽. The crisis is a government that expects the people to bear the weight of a $1.07 billion deficit while its own ministers refuse to make a single personal sacrifice 💰😤.

Shadow Minister for Finance Inia Seruiratu will open the Opposition's response 🎤. Twenty-three MPs will speak 🗣️🏛️. Debate will flow 💬. But unless one of them stands up and says, "We will downsize our own offices before we ask the people to suffer one more day," then this Budget debate is nothing more than theatre 🎭❌.

🔆This Is Not About Politics — It Is About Humanity 🌍❤️.

I am not writing this as a member of any political party 🚫🏛️. I am writing this as someone who sees the truth every day 👀. I see children who should be in school, walking dangerous roads instead 🚶‍♂️⚠️. I see families torn apart by eviction with no recourse 🏠💔. I see students rationing their meals 📚🍽️😞. I see police officers torn between duty and survival 👮‍♂️⚖️💔.

And I see ministers who have the power to change this — who have the authority to lead by example — choosing comfort over courage 🛋️❌💪.

Selfishness in government is not new 😤. But there is something particularly galling about selfishness in the face of such visible, widespread suffering 😡💔. It is not ignorance 🚫🧠. It is not incompetence 🚫📉. It is a choice ✅❌.

A choice to prioritize self-interest over public service 💰❤️. A choice to say, silently but unmistakably: My position matters more than your pain. 👑😢

🔆The People Deserve Better 🙏🇫🇯.

We did not elect ministers to insulate themselves from the hardships of the nation 🚫🛡️. We elected them to navigate those hardships with us 🤝.

To make the tough calls 📞💪.
To be the first to sacrifice when sacrifice is required 💔➡️❤️.

Downsizing ministerial offices is not a radical idea 🚫⚡. It is a reasonable, proportional, and necessary response to an economy in crisis ⚖️📉. It is what leadership looks like 🏆👇. It is what service looks like 🤝❤️. And it is what is sorely missing from our government today 😔❌.

To Minister Immanuel, to Prime Minister Rabuka, to every one of the twenty-three MPs who will take the floor this week 🏛️🗣️: know that the people see you 👀.

We see the motorcades 🚗🚗, the offices 🏢, the entourages 👥👥. And we see the empty classrooms in Macuata 🏫❌, the eviction notices 🏠📄, the empty plates 🍽️😞, and the compromised officers 👮‍♂️💔.

We see the 4.87 billion expenditure 💰. We see the1.07 billion deficit 📉. And we see the contrast ⚖️😤.

Not downsizing is not just poor governance. It is an admission that you value your own comfort more than the survival of the people you swore to serve. 💰❤️❌

And that, above all else, is unforgivable 😡🚫.

💰 👔 📉 ❤️ 🌾 📍 💸 ⚖️ 🏆 🇫🇯 🙏 🚫💰 📢 📉 😤 🌾 🔄 📅 🏆 👧👦 🤝 📉 🏛️ 👔 🎤 ⛽ 📊 📜 📰

PS. this my response to this Fiji Sun Article.
https://fijisun.com.fj/news/economy/immanuel-confident-as-parliament-begins-budget-debate-today?fbclid=IwVERDUATBBz9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR5ZM5WAYNA8EggF0x4X045BrvR2yaB8QRAYGrhmf5HLzT3sB7Y6mlxbILfy7g_aem_-lM9l5Ek4JVXnbTo5ZWiug

Immanuel confident as Parliament begins Budget debate today | Fiji Sun He said his finance team had already briefed the Opposition caucus, alongside the Government team, ahead of the Paliament week-long sitting.

🗳My Political Journey and Reflections on Fiji’s 2026/27 Election.🗳

A Time for Honest Conversation.
Fiji stands at a crossroads. As we approach the 2026/27 General Election, the political landscape has shifted in ways many of us did not anticipate just a few years ago. New parties have emerged, old alliances have fractured, and the electorate — now 707,982 strong as of December 2025 — faces choices that will shape our nation for generations to come.

I write this not as a detached observer, but as someone who has walked the corridors of power, shaken the hands of leaders, and seen the machinery of politics from the inside.

I have been a FijiFirst supporter. I have worked alongside the people who now power the One Nation Party. I have sat in rooms where decisions were made, and I have sat in living rooms where ordinary Fijians expressed their hopes and disappointments. What I share here is borne of that experience — the victories, the compromises, and the hard lessons learned. This is my truth, offered in the hope that it helps others find theirs before they cast their vote.

⚠️1. A Personal Transition.💻
I wish to publicly state that I have disassociated myself from the FijiFirst movement. I am grateful for the time spent standing alongside its leaders and the experiences gained. I extend my congratulations to the One Nation Party on their registration completion and wish them the very best for the 2026/27 General Election.

(Personal observation: Many of the people working behind the scenes at One Nation are former FijiFirst colleagues, based on my direct working experience with them.)

🚻2. The Numbers Game: 10 Parties, One Nation, One Vote.🚻

With the confirmation of the One Nation Party as the newest registered political party, this brings the total number of parties contesting the 2026/27 General Election to 10.

Under the 2013 Constitution (Article 53) and the Electoral Act 2014, a party must obtain at least 5% of the total votes cast to qualify for any of the 55 parliamentary seats. This is a qualifying threshold, not a fixed seat allocation.

SODELPA won 3 seats with just 5.14% — barely clearing the threshold. This demonstrates how critical every vote is in a proportional system.

🗳3. The Reality of Voting Patterns.🗳
While Fiji’s 2013 Constitution abolished race-based constituencies and established a non-racial electoral framework (Article 23), the practical reality on the ground is that campaigning and voting often still align along ethnic lines. This is a fact that political analysts and observers have noted.

The Ethnic Arithmetic:
• iTaukei (indigenous Fijians) are the majority population and therefore the majority of voters
• However, the iTaukei vote is split across multiple parties
• Many iTaukei are overseas in Australia, New Zealand, the UK (British Army), USA, and Canada — some of whom are eligible to vote through overseas registration
• Indo-Fijians are also present in significant numbers overseas, particularly in Canada

Party Landscape (as currently understood):
PARTY PERCEIVED BASE
➡️FijiFirst Multi-ethnic (historically)
People’s Alliance Multi-ethnic
➡️National Federation Party Indo-Fijian
➡️SODELPA iTaukei
➡️One Nation To be determined
➡️New Generation Party To be determined
Others Various.

(Note: These are observer perceptions, not official party designations. The Constitution does not recognize race-based parties.)

📜4. Informed Voting: Beyond the Lines📜
General Elections are fundamentally a numbers game. Every voter, regardless of how they vote, should take time to evaluate candidates beyond:
• Racial lines
• Confederacy or provincial lines
• Religion or denomination lines

The question every voter should ask: “Will this candidate/party deliver what they promised from Day 1?”

(Personal observation: I have spoken with numerous former PAP supporters who have expressed regret about their 2022 vote, while others remain committed to seeing their choice through.)

👨‍👩‍👦5. Two Governments, Two Records: An Assessment🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒

FijiFirst Government (2014-2022):
In my assessment, the FijiFirst government delivered strongly on:
• Infrastructure: New and improved roads, bridges, and public facilities
• Education: Significant literacy improvements and possibly the highest graduate output in Fiji’s history
• Health: Expanded health services nationwide
• Economic impact: Increased cash flow for ordinary Fijians — “more money in the pockets of the grassroots”

Coalition Government (2022-2026):
The coalition brought notable improvements for iTaukei communities through targeted programs that exceeded what FijiFirst had implemented. However, the coalition’s composition — three distinct parties plus later additions — created governance challenges that affected delivery capacity.

Some coalition partners delivered effectively through their ministerial portfolios, while others focused on political survival. The structural complexity of managing multiple party interests within one government proved difficult.

Fair assessment: Both governments delivered results. Both had shortcomings. The measure of good governance is accountability for those shortcomings.

🔍6. A Call to Conscience.🔎
I encourage every voter to:
• Do your research
• Talk to people
• Listen to your conscience
Fiji’s future depends on informed, deliberate choices at the ballot box.

🌴7. My Choice: Family, Humility, and Naitasiri.🏞
I have chosen to return home and support my family and our political home, SODELPA. While I have not yet confirmed whether I will contest, my decision is rooted in choosing family and kinship over personal pride, and humility over individual ambition.

As someone raised by the people of Naitasiri, I believe the province has a unique claim to national leadership. Naitasiri has supplied water and electricity to Suva since the Monasavu hydroelectric scheme and water infrastructure were established. The province has the resources, the people, and the history.

SODELPA, under the leadership of Aseri Radrodro, provides an existing platform for Naitasiri’s voice in national politics.

(Note: Biss Moce leads the New Generation Party, also from Naitasiri, but lacks SODELPA’s established organizational foundation.)

🌐8. The Final Word: All Need Grace.🌐
Politics is unpredictable. Polls shift, alliances form and fracture, and what seems certain today may change tomorrow. In my view, all 10 parties need something beyond strategy and numbers — they need the wisdom to serve Fiji’s people with integrity.

🏗Conclusion:🏗
Where I Stand, What I Ask

Let me be plain about what I believe after all I have seen, all I have heard, and all the numbers I have crunched.

Fiji’s proportional system under the 2013 Constitution makes every vote a calculation, not just a feeling. With 707,982 registered voters and a 5% threshold that could require 24,000 to 28,000 votes just to enter Parliament, no party can afford complacency.

The 2022 election proved that 5.14% gets you 3 seats — and that margin is razor-thin. Every voter who casts their ballot without understanding this system risks watching their vote vanish into the mathematical void.

I have walked away from FijiFirst not with bitterness, but with clarity. I have watched the One Nation Party rise from familiar soil, and I wish them well — but I will not follow them. I have listened to PAP supporters express regret and others express loyalty, and I respect both.

I have weighed the FijiFirst record against the coalition record, and I find truth in both — infrastructure and grassroots cash against iTaukei advancement and multi-party struggle. Neither government was perfect. Accountability is the only currency that matters now.

I have chosen SODELPA because I choose family over pride, humility over ambition, and Naitasiri’s proven contribution over untested promise. But I do not ask you to follow me. I ask you to think. To look past race, past province, past denomination, and past the noise of campaign season. To ask not who looks like you, but who will deliver for you from Day 1.

And if you are a person of faith, as I am, then pray — not for a party to win, but for wisdom to choose rightly. For Fiji. For your children. For the future we all must share.

This election is not about me. It is not about my father, or Aseri Radrodro, or Biss Moce, or any single leader. It is about 707,982 registered voters deciding who will hold the power to shape our laws, our economy, and our daily lives. That is a numbers game — but it is also a moral game. Play it wisely.

Vinaka vakalevu. God bless Fiji.

References:
1. Fijian Elections Office (FEO) — 2025 National Register of Voters Statistics (as at 31 December 2025). www.feo.org.fj
2. Fijian Elections Office (FEO) — 2022 General Election Official Results. www.feo.org.fj
3. Republic of Fiji — Constitution of the Republic of Fiji 2013, Articles 23, 51-53
4. Republic of Fiji — Electoral Act 2014
5. Fiji Sun / Fiji Times — One Nation Party registration confirmation (June 2026)



Disclaimer: This is a personal opinion piece. All facts cited are sourced from official FEO publications and the 2013 Constitution. Interpretations of political performance and party character are the author’s own.

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