The Cabinet has approved the Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2023 for tabling in Parliament.

The bill proposes to amend Section 35 of the Local Government Act 1972 in relation to the retirement age of officers and employees of municipal councils.

The bill proposes to amend the retirement age to 60 years by deleting “55” and substituting it with “60” in Section 35 of the Act.

The bill also proposes to amend Section 78 of the Local Government Act 1972 to change the form of interest from compound interest on overdue rates to simple interest and for the rate of interest to be prescribed by regulations.

The proposed amendment to Section 78 of the Act will reflect the change from compound to simple interest, and overdue rates shall bear interest of 5 percent instead of 11 percent.

This is to match the interest charged on loans by banks in Fiji.

At present, a number of councils are reliant on the national budget for funding of capital projects, special administrator allowances, and the chief executive officer’s salary.

It is anticipated that improvements in rate collection will improve revenue collection and eventually reduce dependency on the national budget.

The bill will be tabled at the next sitting of Parliament.