Govt delivers National Budget with a focus to reach 80% vaccination target by 31st October, people to only qualify for targeted assistance if they are vaccinated

Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has stressed the importance of moving the economy and the country as a whole forward if Fiji reaches the 80% target to get the eligible population fully vaccinated.

While presenting the 2021/2022 National Budget, the Attorney General says they expect 80% of the eligible population fully vaccinated by 31st October this year.

Sayed-Khaiyum says Fiji’s vaccination target population over the age of 18 years is estimated at 586,651, and to reach the 80% vaccination rate, 469,321 individuals have to be fully vaccinated.

The Ministry of Health is provided with an increased budget of $403.3 million, which includes the hiring of additional 238 intern nurses, 140 medical interns, 114 doctors, 10 nurse practitioners and 43 midwives and a specific $25 million COVID-19 contingency fund.

The Minister for Economy says apart from this, there is an additional funding provision of $12 million for the supply of food and other essential items to those in quarantine and isolation and $5 million allocated for the engagement of private general practitioners to relieve pressure from the public health system.

He also says this means no jabs no tourism, no jabs no opportunities, no jabs no school and no jabs no future.

Sayed-Khaiyum says they are acting to protect everyone not please everyone.

He says with the Government revenue down, there is a freeze in hiring in the civil service however this does not apply to the Health Ministry and Police as they try to contain the virus.

Sayed-Khaiyum says if we achieve our vaccine target by 31st October, we will not only welcome back visitors from abroad but also spend Christmas with our loved ones.

He says progress is not always achieved in the public arena, and discussions continue on how to move forward.

The Minister for Economy says for the financial year 2021-2022, tax revenue collections are projected at $1.597 billion, 43.3% lower than pre-COVID levels.

He says compared to the 2020-2021 financial year, tax collections are higher due to lower estimated VAT refunds as large backlog of outstanding refunds were cleared in this financial year.

This higher collection is also based on the assumption that there will be some form of reopening of the borders in the first half of 2022, but arrivals are conservatively estimated at around 20% of preCOVID levels for revenue projection purposes.

Sayed-Khaiyum says it is important to note that the Government will also carry over around $150 million in cash balances to the new financial year. He says this provides an additional buffer in the event if tax revenues do not perform as projected.

Apart from this, non-tax revenue is estimated at $487.5 million.

The Minister for Economy says the Government will continue reforms with further divestments planned for Amalgamated Telecom Holdings Limited, Fiji Airports Limited and some other small entities.

He says this is expected to generate around $150 million in non-tax revenue.

Government is also in discussion with a number of development partners for more budget support grants which is conservatively budgeted at around $116.3 million.

Based on the assumptions, the total revenue for 2021/2022 National Budget is projected to be around $2.1 billion. This includes tax revenue of around $1.6 billion and $488 million in non-tax revenue including grants and divestment of shares.

On the expenditure front, Sayed-Khaiyum says reductions have been made in operational expenditure across Government, including a freeze in civil service recruitments and reductions in other current expenditures.

However, new expenditure demands have been catered for to provide targeted assistance to those unemployed and vulnerable, and fiscal support provided to businesses and the tourism industry to sustain themselves before the borders open up.

The total expenditure for the next budget is around $3.69 billion.

Government debt is projected to be around $9.1 billion or 91.6% of GDP by end of July 2022.

However, the Minister for Economy says as seen in this financial year, it is likely that actual debt could be lower than projected if border reopening and pick up in tourism and other sectors are much stronger than anticipated.