Economical and Social Development in the Fiji Islands through Credit Union - article ; n°25 ; vol.25, pg 169-188

G. A.Arbuckle

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Journal de la Société des océanistes - Année 1969 - Volume 25 - Numéro 25 - Pages 169-188
20 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

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• Publié par: JOURNAL_DE_LA_SOCIETE_DES_OCEANISTES
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1969
• Nombre de lectures: 3
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Gerald A. Arbuckle
Economical and Social Development in the Fiji Islands through
Credit Union
In: Journal de la Société des océanistes. Tome 25, 1969. pp. 169-188.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Arbuckle Gerald A. Economical and Social Development in the Fiji Islands through Credit Union. In: Journal de la Société des
océanistes. Tome 25, 1969. pp. 169-188.
doi : 10.3406/jso.1969.2257
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/jso_0300-953X_1969_num_25_25_2257Economical and Social
Development
in the Fiji Islands
through " Credit Union"
stems It is from common the increasing today to insist awareness that education that human is the factors key to are development. ultimately the 1 prinThis
cipal conditions in economic and social expansion. 2
The insistence on education is to be commended. But too few seem to attempt
to define in precise terms what form education should take, its principles, purpose,
and the role of the instructor. As far as possible, any vagueness of purpose and
method must be removed if long term success of investment in human resources
is to be guaranteed.
Credit Unions in the Fiji Islands 3 have become widely successful as an educa
tional programme for social and economic development. The two hundred and
eighty-eight Credit Unions are run entirely by the people themselves and without
government assistance. 4
1. The then Acting Director-General of UNESCO, Rene Maheu, stated in 1962 :
" It has been said that it is too much to expect countries fully engaged in building their
economies to make sacrifices for education. 'Sacrifice' is a word I cannot accept. There
'sacrifices' for education, and the funds set aside for this puris no such thing as making
pose are never sacrificed. On the contrary, they are an enrichment and investment for
a nation. Perhaps the greatest intellectual task of UNESCO today is precisely this to
prove that money used for education is not just money spent, but money invested. For
education cannot be considered a luxury. It forms part and parcel of the equipment
of every country. And all the material and technological equipment to develop industry
and agriculture would be wasted to a great extent without prior investment in the human
resources needed to exploit a nation's material resources. " French-Radio, quoted
UNESCO " Courier ", July-August, 1962, p. 9.
2. Cf. F. Harbison, " Education for Development ", in " Technology and Economic
Development ", A 'Scientific American' Book, Pelican, 1963, p. 118 ; B. Ward, " It Can
be Done-An Approach to the Problem of World Poverty ", Geoffrey Chapman, London,
1965, p. 10.
3. The total area of Fiji, of which the two main islands comprise 87 per cent, is
7,055 square miles, scattered over some 90,000 square miles of sea. The great part of
the major islands is high, steep, broken country, deeply dissected by water courses. Cre
dit Unions are mainly confined to the chief island, Viti Levu. At the end of 1964 the
total population of the Colony was estimated to be 456,000. The indigenous Fijians
(predominantly of Melanesian stock with an admixture of Polynesian) numbered 41.5 per
cent of the population and the Indians 50 per cent.
4. In the early stages, Government provided some financial assistance. The Burns
Commission reported that the establishment of the existing Credit Unions had cost the
Government some £F14,600. The Fijians themselves had contributed £F25,485. Cf. 170 SOCIETE DES OCEANISTES
Given the failure of many well-intentioned aid programmes in various parts
of the world and the general confusion about the basic principles that should direct
education in the emerging lands, the achievements of Credit Unions in Fiji demand
analysis. The following are among the main successes of Credit Unions in Fiji :
— Thousands of Fijians have learned to save money for the first time ;
—have been saved from excessive interest rates charged by unscru
pulous moneylenders ;
— Initiative shown in Credit Union has instigated other forms of self-help
development, e. g. farming ;
— Credit Union has assisted the evolution of a new type of leadership based
on individual initiative and ability, and not on traditional ascribed status ;
— Certain basic important values, inherent in traditional Fijian customs,
have been preserved and given new life in Credit Union : mutual co-operation
of members to solve individual needs and loyalty to authority in the form of the
now elected officials and rules of Credit Union.
Credit Union was brought to Fiji in late 1953 by Father Marion Ganey, an
American Jesuit priest, at the request of the then Governor, Sir R. Garvey. Father
Ganey had been working for some years in the British Honduras where he had
introduced Credit Union to the people. x The people in Fiji adopted Credit Union
with immense enthusiasm. It was not long before Father Ganey was being hailed
as the " champion " and " saviour " of the Fijians. Some even claimed that
" best thing that ever happened to Fiji. " 2 Credit Union was the
Official recognition of the invaluable role of Credit Union in Fiji has been fr
equent. For example, the Governor of Fiji, in 1959, warned the Colony that it
could " Real not progress depend of the on vast Colony financial ", he said, assistance " must from depend outside in the for final development. analysis on
the hard work, thriftiness, initiative and enterprise of the individual men and
women of Fiji. " He then turned to Credit Union as exemplifying these virtues.
" he " This is the sort of self-help and enterprise that Fiji needs above all else,
insisted. 3
Certainly, there was never any doubt in Father Ganey's mind, that Credit
Union would offer the right opportunities for the development of those virtues
necessary for economic and social expansion at grass roots level. 4
" Report of the Commission of Enquiry into the Natural Resources and Population Trends
of the Colony of Fiji 1959 ", C.P. No. 1. of 1960, par. 705. V. D. Stace reported in 1962,
that Credit Union is " inter-denominational in its membership arid financially self-sup
porting. Functioning under a special act of the Fijian legislature, the credit union move
ment is an independent co-operative organisation, nevertheless, it has accepted small
government grants since its establishment to assist its development. " " Report on
Capital Formation Methods and Credit Facilities for Islanders in the South Pacific ",
South Pacific Commission, Noumea, p. 29.
1. Cf. " The Missionary's Role in Socio-Economic Betterment ", Newman Press,
1961, edited by J. J. Considine, M. M., p. 210-211.
2. Reported by Douglas Hyde, the British authority on South-East Asian affairs,
in " Catholic Herald ", May 1961.
3.in " The Fiji Times ", 27th November 1959.
4. Fr. Ganey stated in 1958 : " This question has been asked repeatedly in the Pacific
areas, by administrators anxious to help the indigenous people, 'What are the types of
institutions, appropriate to the different stages of economic development among these
territories which will enable the administrations to : first, encourage savings by the local
people, second, facilitate the division of credit for the development of production espe
cially by the local people, third, provide opportunities for the local people to gain expe
participation.' I believe that the Credit Union rience in the methods of economic life by ECONOMICAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIJI ISLANDS 171
These virtues have been developed because through Credit Unions the people
have acquired for themselves both physical and immaterial capital.
PHYSICAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT THROUGH CREDIT UNION
A survey was conducted in 1954-55 of ten typical Credit Unions. According
to those conducting the survey, the Unions chosen were " neither the best nor
the worst and (they) offer a fair cross section of the activities of the people. " x
Three of the Unions chosen were industrial, one a settlement of Nabua, and the
other six" were Fijian villages. The industrial Credit Unions had memberships
made up wholly of wage earners, the villages had each a very small percentage
of regular wage earners. Two villages, Veivatuloa and Navunisole, were acces
sible only through boat transport. Half the Nabua settlement were wage earners.
The majority of loans made by the industrial Unions were for provident pur
poses. Members had regular employment but, because of the high cost of living
relative to income, it was only natural that the employees used their Unions for
provident reasons. 2
On the other hand, loans provided by village Credit Unions were mostly for
productive purposes — fishing nets, fishing boats, bullocks, wire fencing, sewing
machines, carpentry tools.
IMMATERIAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT THROUGH CREDIT UNION
Physical capital is important — but useless, unless human capital has also
been developed. The principal value of Credit Union in Fiji is its capacity for
immaterial or educational investment — investment in people. As Professor
" the Credit Unions 0. H. K.