Opposition MP Jone Usamate has told Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad to stand firm, be strong and do their job and please do not give up in the first 100 days in office with all the promises that he has made.
While responding to Professor Biman Prasad’s ministerial statement on the state of the economy, Usamate says Professor Prasad complained about infrastructure but the FijiFirst Government established the Fiji Roads Authority to address the dilapidated state of infrastructure and as part of their initial assessment, they found that more than 160 bridges needed to be fixed.
He says they had a phased plan to implement it and the government’s job now is to take the plan and complete the rest and to stop complaining.
Usamate says Professor Prasad has always said that the FijiFirst Government did not have any ideas.
He says the coalition government came up with their 100 day plan but asks if it has been achieved.
He says the FijiFirst Government invested so much on infrastructure, water and hospitals and now Professor Prasad has the audacity to say that they should not be building good rural hospitals.
Usamate further says the Bainimarama Government was built on consultation, on the People’s Charter, on the National Council for Building a Better Fiji and got everybody in this country to look at what were the causes of the problems.
He says over the years that came out to be expressed in the Constitution which has been the basis of everything that they had been doing - based on consultation and discussion at all times.
The FijiFirst MP claims the coalition government is trying to create a picture that there has been no consultation but that is all hogwash.
Usamate says they do not make a big song and dance about consultation where budget consultations were done and everybody were invited.
He says the former Prime Minister was very famous for talanoa sessions to gather the information where all that information is fed into policies and the budget.
