Seminar-Workshop on Solid Waste Management Finance for Fiji's Municipalities

In a rare gathering of Solid Waste Management (SWM) managers and finance officers from all 13 councils nationwide, J-PRISM3 successfully conducted a 2.5-day Seminar-Workshop on SWM Finance for Fiji’s Local Governments from June 3 to 5, 2026, in Suva, Fiji.

With the theme, “From Subsidies to Sustainability: Building Capacities for Viable Financial Operations on SWM in Fiji’s Municipalities,” the event provided a venue for idea-sharing, discussions on practices on revenue generation and operational cost management.

During the workshop, J-PRISM3 launched its automated Financial Data Entry Model, a practical tool designed to help local councils organize and analyze waste management expenditures, revenues, and operational data in a standardized manner. By better understanding the actual cost of waste management services through this model, councils can make more data-driven decisions to achieve financial sustainability in the heavily subsidized SWM sector.

All 13 councils were represented in the hybrid event, with 12 having in-person presence and engaging in active participation during discussions. The energy was high during break-out sessions, with participants rolling up their sleeves to work with their own real-world financial and SWM data. The eagerness of each council in presenting outputs was highly commendable. By the end of the workshop, all participating councils had successfully applied the model using their own financial and waste management data, providing for many the first opportunity to systematically assess the cost structure of their waste services.

Ministry of Local Government and Ministry of Environment and Climate Change attended the entire event to offer a National Government perspective. Their presence also allowed them to hear firsthand accounts from the councils regarding current waste management challenges.

The A/CEO of Tavua, Sireli Korovulavula, who was the only town executive among the 42 officials who participated, summed the seminar-workshop as having provided “a platform to explore an issue that we have to deal with on a daily basis. It was really enlightening.”