People’s Alliance Leader Sitiveni Rabuka says tonight’s handing down of the 2022-2023 National Budget will be one last shot for the FijiFirst Government to act responsibly by reining in its runaway national debt.
Rabuka says it is disconcerting that tonight’s National Budget address is taking place in the wake of two large loans the FijiFirst Government acquired recently. On the 3rd of this month, government revealed a $218 million loan from the World Bank, which comes on top of the $300 million loan it had obtained from the Asian Development Bank on 24th June.
Rabuka says this government has done nothing to rein in spending and the fact that our total debt has ballooned to $9 billion, nearly 90% of our Gross Domestic Product is distressing.
He says never before has this happened in the history of our nation. Rabuka also says with the country’s total debt project to be hitting the $9 billion mark this year, this is equivalent of carrying a debt of $10,000 for each man, woman and child in this country.
He says if Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum wants to be a responsible manager of the country’s finances, then he should do the right thing and introduce measures that will contain the spiraling debt level that has reached unprecedented levels under his watch.
Rabuka says this is the legacy that the two-men led government has bestowed upon us all. The former Prime Minister says their focus won’t be lost on the looming general elections, which they still have not given us a date for.
Rabuka says the temptation would be to roll out the handouts and sweets for voters. He says this is where Prime Minister Bainimarama’s Economy Minister would need to show statesmanship, and act responsibly.
The People’s Alliance Leader says Sayed-Khaiyum was recently quoted in the media as saying in one of his many campaign tours masquerading as budget consultations that it has been the first time in Fiji’s history that Australia through the money of her hardworking people has given budget support with an open invitation to our government to spend them as they like. Rabuka says he should stop hoodwinking the people.
He says the only historical first in all of this is a government that is in dire financial straits begging the overseas governments for budget support. The People’s Alliance Leader goes on to say that every Fijian household knows that they can’t keep spending more than they earn and rely on bank loans to get them through life. Rabuka says we must learn the basic lesson that we need to be smarter in how we balance our spending needs with the resources available to us.
He says it’s obvious that in their desperate efforts to cling to power, the FijiFirst Government will stop at nothing even putting our children and grandchildren into further debt just to fund their anticipated budget.
Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had earlier said that government had to increase its borrowings to sustain the economy.
He says the alternative of not borrowing and supporting the economy during the last 2 years would have been catastrophic.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the economic decline and socio-economic consequences would have been much more severe, including a large devaluation.
He also pointed out that almost every country increased its borrowing levels substantially.
Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum will deliver the budget at 8 tonight. Stay with us for details on how the budget affects your pockets and your family as a whole.
We will look at the duties and taxes on goods and services that affect you and allocation of tax dollars to the different sectors as part of the provision of government services.
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