Only a few hours remain for the delivery of the 2026/2027 National Budget a time when we are going through one of the most turbulent periods due to many global and domestic factors resulting in the increasing cost of living pressure and the people of the country expecting solutions from the government.
Many Fijian families are struggling with the cost of living, businesses are facing higher operating costs and skilled workers continue to leave the country in search of opportunities overseas.
People are waiting to see if the government will deliver policies that assist us in ensuring we remain resilient, and ensure that there are growth opportunities and incentives to bring about positive and sustainable outcomes.
We have many challenges and the people are waiting to find out on how the government will deal with our safety and security concerns due to the rising drug trade and use, and crimes associated with these activities, the concerning HIV epidemic, many challenges in the health sector dealing with facilities and personnel, the education sector and how we can ensure our standards are lifted despite many teachers going abroad, our increasing housing needs with many families unable to purchase their own homes, providing targeted assistance to the most vulnerable in our country, infrastructure challenges including our water and sewerage network, roads and bridges, investment and employment opportunities, increasing our production through higher agricultural activity including commercial farming based on the availability of land, the overall focus on increasing productivity, the efficient use of government revenue and borrowings, and the plans and allocated budget for the next general elections.
The government also needs to have some reserves to be ready for any major shocks like a major weather situation with the El Nino period starting.
It also has to make some tough decisions as revenue projections for the current financial year are estimated at around $3.9 billion while government expenditure is projected at $4.8 billion.
Government debt is also expected to reach around $11.4 billion, equivalent to about 84 percent of GDP by next month.
While it has been stated that we all know that the government needs to borrow, the critical question is what is the money being borrowed for and how much of that will be utilised for capital works to improve services for the people.
Inflation is projected to exceed 6 percent.
It has been revealed that government expenditure has increased significantly over the past three years, rising by about 35 percent, reflecting increased spending on public sector wages, social services, infrastructure, debt servicing costs and other development priorities.
Economic growth for Fiji this year has been revised downwards from the 3 percent forecast at the end of last year to 1.5 percent, with downside risks remaining elevated.
Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor, Ariff Ali had earlier said that there are many factors that need to be considered urgently that are affecting us, which include the Ease of Doing Business in Fiji, the crime rate, drugs and HIV.
Ali said all these issues affect people and he is also concerned that the driver of the economy, tourism will be affected by some of these factors if nothing is done.
Ali had said we need to urgently address the issue of approvals and Ease of Doing Business as he had heard that $1 billion in loans had been approved for the private sector but this has not been drawn down.
Ali said the reason why these loans have not been drawn down by the private sector is due to pending approvals relating to their projects.
With foreign reserves standing at around $3.4 billion, sufficient to cover 4.7 months of retained imports, we need to continue to ensure our reserves remain above 4 months.
The RBF says the reserves are expected to remain adequate in the near to medium term, supported in part by Government loan drawdowns from international partners.
Maintaining adequate foreign reserves is essential for Fiji, as they ensure the country can continue to purchase critical imports and helps support stability in the value of the Fijian dollar.
Fiji needs to do a lot to increase its production and exports as our total value of exports stands at over $2 billion while our import bill is at a staggering $7 billion plus figure.
All in all, delivering the budget is a balancing act to ensure that government is able to create attractive incentives, raise sufficient revenue, and prioritise its spending for the required services to the people of the country.
Minister for Finance, Esrom Immanuel will deliver the budget at 10am today.
Speaking ahead of the delivery of the budget, Immanuel has called on the people not to panic as the coalition government is aware of the issues, and it is going to put in place some strategies and action plans to deal with them, and to protect the people and the economy.
The Finance Minister says most of the programs that they put in place before and during the fuel crisis are expected to continue because they are not sure when this crisis will end, however, they expect that at least the fuel price is expected to go down.
He says when the fuel crisis started, they put into place some tough measures that will continue.
However, he says they are trying to grow the economy from a stable environment, and the emphasis will be more towards capital expenditure.
Immanuel says the government will start with some of the big projects that they were supposed to do, and that will be good.
He says the focus continues on growing the economy and to also be resilient in case something happens in the future, even natural disasters or issues such as what we are facing now.
Immanuel says if you compare this financial year and the new budget in terms of the nominal dollar, the amounts will probably be the same, however, if we look at the content of those budgets, he thinks they are doing more.
He says they will also account for the increase in prices.
Immanuel says they have continued to ask the question - "so what will we do" - as most or some of those issues were highlighted during a recent economic conference that he termed as a talkfest.
He stresses they have the required strategies and action plans in place.
Stay with your fijivillage team on the latest updates on the 2026/2027 National Budget as we will let you know what taxes and duties go up or down, how it will affect your pockets, and the governments plans for the provision of services in the new financial year.
You can follow our live coverage with our latest up to the minute updates on our website and social media pages, fijivillage.
