Stop blaming the previous Govt for drug issues – Koya

FijiFirst MP, Faiyaz Koya says the government should stop blaming the previous government for any ill wills because the issue of drugs in the society is not just happening in Fiji but they must tackle it jointly.

While responding to the President’s speech, Koya says that safety, security and stability are key drivers of the economy and claims the level of lawlessness has increased dramatically.

Koya has congratulated the Minister for Home Affairs Pio Tikoduadua for acknowledging issues faced by the Fiji Police Force and says that it is something they need to do together.

He says one of the most important things for Tikoduadua is to ensure that with all he is doing, he brings back investor confidence because that is what is seriously lacking.

The MP says it stems from incompetence and the state of the economy is fragile and unfortunately instead of building up the economy, in his second year, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad is still trying to create a new National Development Plan and adds that by the time they finish with it, it will be election time again.

Koya says the biggest complaint they are getting from the public is that before they used to have some loose change in their pocket and now they do not even have that because VAT has gone up by 6 percent, manufacturing duty gone up by 3 percent and increased corporate tax by 5 percent.

He says that is a staggering 14 percent increase to the businesses but it is being passed down to consumers.

Koya says these policies are atrocious, misguided and do not take care of the people.

He adds we have a resilient population but this time, the resilience is wearing thin.