A cabinet reshuffle in name only says Opposition MP Hon Premila Kumar

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has once again failed the people of Fiji.

The much-anticipated cabinet reshuffle has turned out to be a sham.

Instead of addressing inefficiencies or holding non-performing ministers accountable, the Prime Minister chose to expand his cabinet by appointing seven additional ministers and assistant ministers.

This isn't a reshuffle.

It’s a bailout for underperforming ministers and assistant ministers who continue to hold their positions, enjoying perks, all at the expense of hardworking Fijians.

Rather than moving ineffective leaders to the backbench, the Prime Minister has opted to preserve the status quo—at the expense of the people.

Before the election, both the Prime Minister and his Finance Minister pledged to reduce the size of government and cut unnecessary costs.

Today, they have abandoned those promises.

The current administration has ballooned to 34 ministers and assistant ministers, with 22 cabinet ministers and 12 assistant ministers making it one of the largest in Fiji's history.

Shockingly, nearly every Coalition partner member has been handed a ministerial position, with only two excluded for disciplinary reasons.

This move by the Prime Minister raises serious questions about priorities:

• Why add unnecessary expenses to taxpayers already struggling with a high cost of living?

• Why neglect critical national issues while funding political payoffs?

The funds wasted on this bloated cabinet could have been used to address urgent national needs:

• Supporting families devastated by recent floods.

• Addressing chronic shortages of medicines in hospitals.

• Providing free bus fares for citizens aged 60 and above.

• Repairing the country's crumbling roads and bridges.

Instead, this government has chosen to serve its own interests while ordinary Fijians suffer.

If the current ministers and assistant ministers were delivering results, why expand the cabinet?

The answer is clear: they aren’t.

This expansion is an admission of failure.

Rather than reshuffling or removing non-performers, the Prime Minister has doubled down on inefficiency, rewarding incompetence with reduced workloads with same pay.

To make matters worse, these unbudgeted appointments will drain resources from critical projects, as funds are redirected to sustain this bloated structure.

This is poor governance, plain and simple—a direct insult to taxpayers who are already struggling to cope with rising costs and declining public services.

Even the Prime Minister himself recently admitted his government’s failures and yet he was defending them during the press conference:

"We have not been able to satisfy all our manifesto, and we are receiving a lot of criticism from our own party supporters."

Rather than addressing these shortcomings by removing non-performers and streamlining his team, the Prime Minister has chosen to appease coalition partners.

This is not governance; it’s desperation.

This sham reshuffle is nothing short of a betrayal. It reflects a government more concerned with preserving power than addressing the real issues facing Fiji.

The Prime Minister had the chance to demonstrate bold leadership, prioritize accountability, and deliver on his commitments. Instead, he chose to indulge in political expediency, further eroding public confidence.

Fijians deserve a government that puts their needs first—not one that prioritizes alliances over accountability.

Prime Minister Rabuka has failed to lead, failed to deliver, and failed to honour his promises.

This isn’t just a failure of governance—it’s a failure of character.

Hon Premila Kumar, Opposition Member of Parliament.