Opinion & Commentary
Smaller government the answer for Fiji
Fiji has scored rather poorly since independence on economic growth, security and social harmony. The country has suffered from backsliding, racial distrust, fear and pessimism. Last Thursday’s Court of Appeal judgement in Fiji, which ruled the present Interim Government ‘invalid’, is only the latest of many ructions and accidents that have plagued Fiji and undermined its human condition. It seems that there is a need for radical rethinking and an attempt to lay down ground rules which make for
better racial harmony.
It seems that the post-colonial constitution with its reliance on paternalistic, top-heavy central government has not served Fiji well. Government is far too big a political prize and therefore an obstacle to promoting racial harmony. Serious consideration should therefore be given to the alternative of privatising many government functions and devolving the residual business of governing, as far as possible, to local governments, which one might call ‘cantons’.
Handing government powers, wherever possible, to markets and private competition de-emotionalises many problems and allows people of differing backgrounds to meet voluntarily and as equals. They then learn habits of cooperation and compromise, first in business, later in other walks of life.
It would also economise on scarce administrative talents and introduce competitive ways for discovering solutions to many of the practical problems that the Fiji government has not been able to solve.
'There is need for radical rethinking and an attempt to lay down ground rules which make for better racial harmony'
Devolving residual government tasks to a cantonal system has worked well in once poverty-stricken and fissiparous Switzerland.
The cantonal system of government is based on the idea of competitive federalism. Here, governments compete with each other in creating attractive conditions for citizens and investors.
For this to work, the cantonal governments must be responsible for raising their own taxes to finance those tasks that local politicians promise to undertake. They must also be prohibited from setting up barriers to trade and capital flows between cantons and from engaging in ‘subsidy wars’ to attract mobile capital and enterprises. In Fiji, such a constitutional approach can rely on the historic experience of self-governing tribes and local communities, and on local knowledge and loyalty.
As different cantons develop differing styles of government, they will learn from each other what administrative solutions work best in promoting peace and prosperity.
The national government would look after a few central tasks, such as defence, external affairs and criminal law.
In addition, politicians and bureaucrats should be constrained by the institution of citizen-initiated referenda, again modeled on Swiss experience. This enables the majority of voters to overturn those administrative and legislative measures they reject. In Fiji, it seems important to involve all citizens, irrespective of race, directly in the processes of government. Discrimination against particular groups is much less likely if the citizens have a right to overturn political actions.
'There is no reason why Fiji should cling to the tyranny of the status quo'
Nowadays, such referenda can be implemented cheaply through computers. There is no reason why Fiji should not leapfrog into the direct democracy of the 21st century.
Such a decentralised, ‘racially blind’ constitution is a much more promising option than the ‘Malaysian model’ now being pushed by some Fijian nationalists. They claim an innate right to control government for the ethnic Fijian ‘owners of the land’ and demand positive racial discrimination, such as cheap loans.
In Malaysia, such positive discrimination has not worked all that well, despite the fact that it was underpinned by copious oil and gas revenues. Malaysia is now rated as a mostly unfree economy and suffers from unresolved political tensions. For Fiji, this model is the recipe for economic decline and continued racial tension.
There is no reason why the Republic of Fiji should cling to the tyranny of the status quo, which has served neither the Fijian nor the Indian community well and which has disempowered many citizens.
About the Author:
Wolfgang Kasper is Senior Fellow of The Centre for Independent Studies and is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of New South Wales.
