In just two years, this government borrowed almost $2.6 billion, almost as much as what the Banimarama government borrowed over 12 years, and this is their record.
This was shared by Opposition MP, Premila Kumar during the National Budget Debate this morning via Zoom.
She says by the end of their term, this government will have irresponsibly added $3.3 billion onto our national debt without any national crisis to warrant such borrowing.
Kumar says the coalition government lied to voters, promising fiscal responsibility and sound economic management, only to plunge the nation into deeper debt, and to put this into perspective, the previous government borrowed $6.4 billion over 16 years, managing more than 14 cyclones and a once-in-a-century pandemic.
She says a 2.5% debt reduction, a 3% civil service pay rise, and a 5% increase in social pensions, all dressed up to win headlines and applause but beyond the dazzles lies a plan built on panic and not on vision, and hope not for tomorrow's Fiji, but for today's political survival.
She stresses that this budget tries to distract the public from the deeper failures, which include stalled growth, unsustainable borrowing, ballooning deficits, and the absence of real reform.
Kumar adds that this government is not borrowing to build the nation but to pay the bills and says, despite the government's narrative on economic growth, 81% of the budget is consumed by operational expenses, leaving a mere 19% for capital investment.
She says we have a bloated civil service with a salary bill rising from $963.9 million in the 2022-2023 budget to $1.3 billion and they have also seen a rise in vehicle leasing costs from $20 million in the 2019-2020 budget to $52 million today, which is the opposite of exactly what NFP's election promise was, and that was to engage in ministerial carpooling and to cut the wastage by 50%.
