Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says Fiji’s inflation is being cushioned through the Coalition Government’s fiscal policies and measures.
Rabuka said this is being supported through budgetary measures to support the most vulnerable in our society through the removal of VAT on basic food items and medicines.
He said the Government has also increased social protection allowance and directed resources to the agriculture sector to ensure food and security.
The Prime Minister said the Coalition Government had inherited a high national debt and a limited fiscal space –Government will continue the past practices of inconsistent policies which provide lower or no return on investment.
Rabuka said the Opposition must understand that there is always a lag period before an impact is felt in the economy.
He claims that the FijiFirst Government left the Coalition Government a booming economy, which is not true – They left us a debt burden of almost 100 percent of GDP, despite the fact of high liquidity in the market, close to $600 million annually.
He said investors were reluctant to borrow and played the ‘wait and see’ game.
He said the lack of confidence due to inconsistency of policies, poor law and order situation, human rights violations, and our low ratings on the ease of doing business ranking is what the Coalition Government inherited.
“This resulted in the lack of employment opportunities and the hardships faced by our citizens,” the Prime Minister said.
Rabuka said that he is optimistic that the $3 billion investment in the pipeline will be realised because there is renewed confidence in the economy with more transparency, certainty, and consistency of policies.
