“INSPIRING OUR YOUTHS WITH INTEGRITY AND VISION”

A Statement to the Youths of Fiji by Savenaca Narube, leader of Unity Fiji.

In his speech at the launching of Unity Fiji’s 2026 manifesto recently in Sigatoka, the leader of Unity Fiji directly addressed the youths in Fiji. This is an extract of his statement.

“Unity Fiji will not let the past dictate the new direction that we will take. We have the courage to break away from the shackles that are destroying us. We have the innovation and integrity to inspire our young people. We have the commitment to transform the lives of our people. 

We have coined the supporting bylines of our manifesto—"Inspiring Youths. Transforming Lives”.  These two bylines carry the hope of the people. Our youths are suffering from significant problems of unemployment, drugs, HIV, school dropouts, teenage pregnancies, and many more. We are in danger of losing an entire generation. Many youths have given up on politicians. They think it is a game played by old people for their own gains. The youths are disillusioned about the lack of integrity and morality that they see in government. Many have simply lost hope.

I would like to remind the youths of Fiji that everything is not lost. Unity Fiji was born with the principles to inspire youths through the integrity of our governance, fairness, justice, one law for all, and not leaving anyone behind. Through our integrity and principle centered leadership we will inspire our young people. We will include you in decision making. We will listen to you. 

Above all we will create more jobs for our youths. Jobs will bring dignity and confidence to young people. You will be proud to earn a living. Jobs are created through economic activity. We have pledged to double the economic activity in 12 years. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a very brave call. But we do not speak lightly. We speak with decades of experience and knowledge. 

When economic activity is doubled, it means that jobs will double, incomes will double and livelihoods will double. By extension, social problems like crime, drugs, and school dropouts will decline. Imagine the vision of our beautiful country regaining its place as the way the world should be. This is just not talk. The manifesto explains how we will do it.

I am personally gutted by the rise in corruption in Fiji. It rose sharply during the reign of the Fiji First government. But it has continued under this Government. Corruption is cancerous. It will eat away at the core of the nation. It will destroy the lives of our youths. We must put a stop to it now. Unity Fiji will clean up government. 

In this manifesto we have introduced the following:

1. We will recruit forensic experts from abroad to help investigate allegations of corruption including those against the Fiji First government. 

2. We will strengthen the independence of law enforcement institutions like FICAC, Fiji Police and FRCS.

3. We will recruit experts from abroad to head the Fiji Police and FICAC for the next four years to lessen the influence of local culture and history in their work. The current Heads of these institutions will remain in their positions as advisers. 

4. We will review the relevant laws and raise the penalties for those found guilty of corruption.

As the leader of Unity Fiji, I assure the nation that we will not tolerate corruption in all its form in our government. 

Our youths critically need to be inspired by us adults. Tragically, this is not happening. Unity Fiji understands the challenges that our young generation is going through. We will work with you to overcome these challenges.

The manifesto carries these measures to help youths:

1. We will introduce an automatic full tertiary scholarship. Any student who secures a place at a registered tertiary institution will automatically be eligible for a government scholarship. We believe that education is a right and it should not be limited by the financial position of parents. 

2. We will forgive any remaining debt under TELS.

3. We will start a National Youth Scheme to help youths manage the pressures of these modern lifestyles. We will include the change in behaviours, positive thinking and financial discipline in this program.

4. We will mount a strong national campaign against drugs and build rehabilitation centers. 

5. We will reintroduce the apprenticeship scheme.

6. We will set up a national network to ensure that we hear your voices and respond to your needs.

   
   

To the youths here today and those tuning in, Unity Fiji understands your challenges. We will work with you to overcome them. 

You must not abandon hope and your future to politicians that had only served themselves. 

I urge you to take part in framing your future by taking part in this election. Please register and vote.”