Who is responsible? Fiji operation to remove street dwellers faces glaring lack of clarity

Fiji's effort to clear beggars and street dwellers from public spaces has become a contest of competing explanations, with no clear answer about who is responsible for support or what happens after people are moved.

The operation has been presented as a joint effort by the Lautoka City Council, Fiji Police and the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection. In August, city rangers reportedly issued warning notices to people soliciting alms in public areas. The notices said persistent begging or obstructing footpaths were offences that could lead to "enforcement actions."

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There is no forced relocation here. We can't force anybody.

Questions about the operation's practical rules remain unanswered. Authorities have not clearly explained what triggers a warning, what happens if someone refuses to leave, which support programmes are available, or how responsibilities are divided among the agencies. The ministry's office declined to comment on its role or the programmes offered to people moved from public spaces. Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu's office said officers were present to "ensure the safety of all parties" and would "use necessary force" if required, but gave no detailed explanation of what that meant.

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ensure the safety of all parties

Lautoka City Council chairman and acting chief executive Ratu Tevita Momoedonu rejected suggestions that people were being forcibly removed. "There is no forced relocation here. We can't force anybody," he said. He described the initiative as welfare-led, saying street dwellers were profiled, invited to meetings and told about the benefits of moving to shelters and rehabilitation services.

Momoedonu also said the council could not explain the support programmes. "The rehabilitation part, the relocation part, it is their responsibility, not" the council's, he said, referring to the ministry and police. Civil society organisations have expressed concern that enforcement may be moving faster than the support systems needed to sustain it.

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use necessary force