Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry is urging the government to take immediate pre-emptive action to shield ordinary Fijians from the inevitable economic fallout of the escalating Middle East crisis and stop its "wait-and-see" approach.
Chaudhry, in a statement, says the Government must take pre-emptive action now to cushion the people from its worst impact.
He is proposing a tax buffer as an immediate commitment to temporarily reduce or suspend specific fuel duties the moment global benchmarks hit a predetermined ‘trigger price’.
The FLP leader also proposes freight subsidy review for proactive engagement with importers to ensure that essential food items are shielded from sudden shipping surcharges.
Chaudhry says a strategic reserves audit must be undertaken for transparency on Fiji’s current fuel reserves to ensure we have the capacity to weather a prolonged supply disruption without immediate price hikes.
He says while the impact on our fuel pumps and grocery shelves has not yet fully materialized, he warns that global energy markets are already signalling a period of extreme volatility that will, without question, reach Fiji’s shores in the coming weeks.
He says we are in the calm before the storm.
The former Prime Minister says our economy is too fragile to weather the shock of the current geopolitical crisis and it lacks the resilience to shield our people from the impending impact of escalating fuel prices and the inflation it will fuel.
He says global oil and gas prices have doubled in just ten days and are forecast to rise even further if the Middle East crisis is not resolved soon.
Chaudhry stresses the situation is getting critical by the day.
The Labour leader says tensions of this magnitude in the Middle East will not only lead to a spike in crude oil prices and shipping surcharges, it will also have a devastating impact on prices of food and consumer items and will send inflation spiralling.
He warns we cannot afford to wait until the price of bread and bus fares go up before we act.
Chaudhry says the Coalition has done little in the past three years to broaden our economic base to ensure that it can absorb such external shocks.
He says it continues to rely heavily on tourism which will take a heavy pounding if the price of crude oil continues to rise as predicted, leaving our economy even more vulnerable.
He further says the Government’s usual habit of only acting after the people are suffering, must end.
Chaudhry adds that we must build our economic defences now and if we wait for the fuel price to rise at the pump, it is already too late for the mother struggling to balance her weekly budget.
Questions on Chaudhry's proposal have been sent to Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel.
