Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says his opponents can shout, scream, and jump up and down all they like, but his response will simply be to point to the Government’s record.
While speaking at the Nadroga/Navosa Provincial Council meeting, Bainimarama says the numbers don’t lie and they mean more than anything that anyone can say.
Bainimarama says we got here by making tough decisions and sticking with their strategic plan to free Fiji from the COVID-19 pandemic.
He says they chose to use the tools and the common sense that God gave us and used vaccines decisively.
The Prime Minister says through a staggering national effort, they vaccinated nearly our entire population across over 100 populated islands, and they did so much faster than some developed countries managed to do.
He says once it was safe, they chose to open Fiji; open our schools, open our businesses, and open our border.
Bainimarama says time has shown that they chose right.
He says during this entire ordeal, they faced unrelenting opposition from the critics.
The Prime Minister says the critics made demand after demand in favour of timid and short-sighted policies that preyed on day-to-day anxieties, not for the sake of science or sensibility, but for the sake of their political ambitions.
He says the critics did the Government a favour because if you consider the sum of everything they advocated, it proves why they can never be trusted with national decision-making.
Bainimarama says we must continue to respond to a new crisis – the Russian war in Ukraine that has exacerbated already-rising prices of fuel and food commodities like wheat skyrocketing.
He says imagine if we had to deal with this price-increase crisis with over 100,000 Fijians still out of work.
He says the costs would be enormous but that’s exactly the situation we would face if the Government had listened to the other political parties – all of whom fought the recovery every step of the way.
The Prime Minister says the Government also borrowed from credible financial institutions to help feed Fijians in need, protect the vulnerable, and stimulate economic activity.
Bainimarama says they borrowed that money very cheaply, at rock-bottom interest rates, or sometimes with no interest at all.
He says in fact, $900 million of what they borrowed was borrowed at highly concessional rates, where anywhere from 55 to 60 percent carries a grant component.
Meanwhile he says the Vanua o Vatulele agreed to facilitate the redevelopment of Vatulele Island Resort – a massive development that will transform the island and Fiji.
He says Vatulele has been on a journey towards recovery and resilience since Cyclone Harold devastated the island, and this is another step in that journey that will create employment and other benefits to the community.
Bainimarama also says through the Ministry of Economy, they have invested millions of dollars to develop iTaukei land with and for iTaukei landowners for subdivision purposes.
Some of the sites under development include Yadua, Saweni and Wairabetia.
He says the Yadua subdivision is on the cusp of being commissioned and once the lots are sold, the money will be going directly into the pockets of its landowners. He will soon attend the groundbreaking ceremonies for new subdivision developments in Tavua and Vuda.
The Prime Minister urged landowners in the Nadroga/Navosa province to take up this opportunity whereby Government invests, with them in their land, and they get the profits once the land is leased.
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