People can hope for some relief as Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad says in the upcoming National Budget, they will explore further measures to alleviate cost-of-living pressures—especially those aimed at easing the financial burden on households.
While speaking during the Nadi Chamber of Commerce Business Forum, Professor Prasad says high cost of living is an issue that continues to burden many Fijian families.
He says rising global commodity prices, geopolitical tensions, and supply chain disruptions have significantly affected the cost of essential goods and services.
Professor Prasad says as a country that imports around 60 percent of its consumer goods, Fiji is particularly vulnerable to these global shocks.
To help ease the pressure, the Coalition Government has implemented several measures in the past two budgets.
He says these include adding prescribed medication to the list of 21 zero-rated VAT items; introducing the Back to School Support initiative, which paid around $130 million over the 2023, 2024, and 2025 school years; and increasing the social pension—by 15 percent for those aged 65–70 and by 25percent for those 75 and above.
Other measures include a 15 percent rise in the Family Assistance Allowance (formerly the Poverty Benefit Scheme), an increase in the minimum wage from $4 to $5 (including sectoral rates), and salary increases for civil servants ranging from 8 percent to 20 percent Professor Prasad says the Government has also boosted the student transport allowance from $37 million to $60 million, forgiven over $650 million in student debt, and provided $4 million in the 2024–2025 Budget to reinstate pensions for those affected by the 2011 reforms.
In addition, $9.2 million was allocated to compensate 368 Vatukoula mine workers—who have been on strike for over 33 years—with $10,000 already paid and the remaining $15,000 to be disbursed in the upcoming Budget.
$6.08 million in compensation was paid to former and current Air Terminal Services workers terminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Deputy Prime Minister says the Government has also made significant investments in agriculture, MSMEs, and cooperative enterprises to strengthen domestic production and promote economic self-sufficiency.
He says however, the private sector also has a critical role to play and businesses must embrace fair pricing, enhance operational efficiencies, and adopt sustainable models of profitability.
Professor Prasad says we cannot continue to protect industries through high import duties or limited competition if they exploit this protection to set unreasonable prices.
He stresses there are industries where this is happening, and it must be addressed.
The 2025-2026 National Budget will be tabled in Parliament on June 27th.
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