This is a bad budget that Fijians will regret - Bala

This is a bad budget that all Fijians will regret when their pockets are hit with the coming increases in the everyday cost of living.

FijiFirst MP, Parveen Bala highlighted this in his reply to the 2023/2024 National Budget adding it does not keep track of all the concerns and issues that people have on the ground.

Bala says what can they build, let alone rebuild when all the coalition government is doing is fulfilling one or the other of their partners' election promises, no matter what will be the cost to the people of Fiji.

He further says this budget makes clear it will be the poor and the working class who will do the bulk of suffering, under its increased cost of living with no vision to take the pressure off the poor people.

Bala says it does not take into account the huge economic blows that Fiji has taken through national disasters and the pandemic.

He further says it is a budget that will badly impact the working poor and those who are socially disadvantaged including those in rural and maritime areas as well as our older citizens.

The Opposition MPsays the budget has the same old approach based on the coalition government’s design to rubbish all things put by FijiFirst.

He further says this is not a forward looking and innovative approach as it means the budget like the coalition government is reactionary and politically motivated.

Bala says as the Minister of Finance has admitted, this is a budget based on 90 percent diagnosis of previous conditions, leaving only 10 percent for future considerations.

He adds a nation's economic health is not the same as diagnosing measures for the economic health of an individual.