National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad says he does not know what Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Lenora Qereqeretabua means by the party not giving her support when she opposes the proposed Waste-to-Energy Project in Vuda because the party management board has not had a formal meeting to discuss
the issue as it is being discussed in public.
This comes as Qereqeretabua, in a facebook post, has said that at the cost of her job, and with no support from her party, she opposes the proposed project.
She says the Waigani Convention is clear - Fiji agreed not to become a dumping ground for hazardous waste and to manage its own waste within its borders.
Qereqeretabua says we are bound to uphold that principle in both law and intent.
She says Fiji signed the Waigani Convention in 1995 and ratified it in April 1996, becoming legally bound by its provisions well before it entered into force in 2001.
The Assistant Minister says the Convention was established to protect the Pacific region from the dumping and movement of hazardous and radioactive waste.
She says these dates matter because they reflect a long-standing commitment by Fiji to uphold strong environmental safeguards and regional responsibility, and any current development that involves large-scale waste processing must be measured against these obligations, not treated as optional or outdated.
While speaking to fijivillage News, Professor Prasad says he does not know what Qereqeretabua means by the party not backing her as they obviously value her contribution in Parliament.
He says she is the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and he knows she understands the protocols and the norms of behaviour when it comes to the government machinery and how within a coalition, they will be discussing these issues.
When questioned on whether the party supports or opposes the project, Professor Prasad says the EIA process is still being undertaken and analysed, and there is a lot more scrutiny that will happen.
NFP President Pramod Chand says as a MP, Qereqeretabua is totally free to express her views but she should have first expressed her views within the Government caucus before posting it on social media.
He says to oppose the project and claim it is being done without the backing of the party is a wild and misleading claim.
Meanwhile, The Next Generation (Fiji) Pte
Limited (TNG Fiji) says they respect Qereqeretabua's commitment to Fiji's international
obligations and it is one they share.
While providing a clarification on the type of waste that goes into an
Energy-from-Waste facility, and the correct application of Fiji's
treaty obligations, TNG says Energy-from-Waste
facilities process non-hazardous municipal solid waste, the
everyday general waste produced by households and businesses.
They say this
includes food
and organic waste, paper
and cardboard, plastics
and packaging, textiles
and rubber, wood
and garden waste and non-recyclable
residual waste that cannot be recovered.
TNG says this
is the same category of material currently filling Fiji's landfills and it is not special, exotic, or industrial but it is the rubbish that
communities generate every day.
They say hazardous chemical waste, medical or clinical waste, radioactive materials, industrial toxic waste and any waste classified as hazardous under applicable law do not go into an Energy-from-Waste plant.
They stress that these categories are subject to entirely separate, far stricter regulatory
regimes and are explicitly excluded from the feedstock of this
facility.
TNG says this is not a preference, it is a design and legal
requirement.
They say TNG
Fiji's EIA, prepared by
international environmental consultants GHD and submitted to Fiji's
Department of Environment in March 2026, sets out the waste
classification framework in full detail.
They say the distinction between hazardous and non-hazardous waste is not a
technicality but it is the legal and scientific foundation on which
every question about Fiji's treaty obligations must be assessed.
They have also clarified that Qereqeretabua is correct that Fiji signed the Waigani Convention in
1995 and ratified it in 1996 and TNG Fiji fully acknowledges Fiji's
obligations under that instrument and supports its purpose without
reservation.
However,
they say the full title for Waigani Convention is the Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island
Countries of Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes and to Control the
Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within the
South Pacific Region.
They say the Convention exists to prevent Pacific nations from becoming
destinations for hazardous and radioactive waste.
TNG says this is a
protection TNG Fiji actively supports, but the Convention applies
only to hazardous and radioactive waste and it does not regulate,
restrict, or prohibit the movement of non-hazardous waste.
They stresses this is
not TNG's interpretation, it is the text of the Convention itself.
TNG says because
the waste to be processed at the Vuda facility is non-hazardous
municipal solid waste, the Waigani Convention does not apply to this
project.
They add the EIA has now moved to the Technical Review Committee stage and TNG Fiji
welcomes this.
The Ministry has confirmed there will be no political
interference and no predetermined outcome and TNG says they accept and support that
assurance.
TNG says they encourage all Fijians, including members of parliament to engage
with the EIA documentation and the outputs of the technical review as
the authoritative basis for assessing this project.
They adds that is the
process Fiji's law provides, and it is the right place for these
questions to be resolved.
Questions have been sent to Qereqeretabua. She is yet to respond.
