Urgent action needed to reduce Fiji’s debt level – World Bank

If Fiji’s debt level is left unchecked, it is likely to threaten the country’s ongoing recovery from the pandemic and sustainable economic development according to the World Bank’s Fiji Public Expenditure Report 2023.

The Bank says the report provides an in-depth analysis of Fiji’s domestic revenue, the cost of Fiji’s civil service, the value for money of public investments in infrastructure; and the viability of support to Fiji’s sugar industry.

They say the global COVID-19 pandemic, multiple severe tropical cyclones, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had resulted in an economic crisis of unprecedented scale in Fiji, with debt reaching 90 percent of GDP in 2022, exacerbating the lower economic growth trends that were emerging before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Bank is calling on the government to take decisive actions that will be critical to bringing Fiji’s debt back to pre-pandemic levels.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad says they welcome the World Bank’s Public Expenditure Review report.

He says this comes when the new Government strives to get Fiji back on a path of fiscal sustainability and financial discipline.

Professor Prasad says the findings of the Public Expenditure Review will serve as an important consideration and input in this entire process of fiscal consolidation. He adds the Government would like to extend its gratitude to the World Bank for this comprehensive study and useful technical report. The Fiji Public Expenditure Report 2023 also offers recommendations of varying degrees of revenue increases and public expenditure cuts to reduce Fiji’s debt to 50 percent of GDP by 2032.

World Bank Country Manager for Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu Stefano Mocci says they remain committed to Fiji’s development priorities, including working together towards Fiji’s economic recovery and resilience strengthening to better withstand future shocks.

The World Bank Group has six active projects in Fiji – totalling US$414 million in commitments – focused on transport, health, climate change, tourism, and digital connection.