Shadow Minister for Economy Aseri Radrodro has hit out at major plans announced by the government in the 2017/2018 National Budget saying they should slow down and get the ground work tested first before making big announcements.
In a response which was supposed to be for both Opposition parties, Radrodro mainly focused on what an alternative SODELPA government would have done.
He called on the government to plan properly because tax payers were footing the bill for all concessions, subsidies and grants being given out to different industries.
Radrodro says taxpayers continue to fund commercial entities such as Fiji Airways and the state broadcaster.
He says the budget seems to favour the FijiFirst Government’s biggest beneficiaries which is an elite grouping of people who continue to earn the most, and enjoy the biggest slice of the economic pie.
He adds they are mostly made up of businesses, overseas contractors and consultants and those who have lent their support to the government of the day.
He raised concern about the powers given the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority saying it would not create a good business environment in Fiji.
Radrodro has also called the salary increase for civil servants under the Civil Service reform as politics of desperation.
He also raised concerns about the Fiji Roads Authority and the outsourcing arrangements which it undertakes.
Radrodro also questioned why the government is placing a priority on marketing Fiji abroad with an increased budget allocation, and not tend to our own backyard first.
He says the sheer arrogance and ignorance of the FijiFirst government lies bare for the world to see.
Radrodro says they are gallivanting around the world to champion climate change, yet our own victims still struggle to make ends meet.
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