Fiji's economy is simply too important to be politicised, and the objective should never be to defend economic policy but to get economic policy right, according to Dialogue Fiji Executive Director Nilesh Lal.
While speaking at the organisation's National Budget Forum, Lal emphasised that the budget does not belong to Government alone; it belongs to every Fijian.
He says the Finance Minister was refreshingly candid in his budget address, where he openly acknowledged the seriousness of Fiji's fiscal position and spoke honestly about the growth in public debt, the expansion of operating expenditure, the rising cost of the public service and the difficult choices now confronting the country.
He says he believes the turning point in Fiji's public discourse on the economy came during Dialogue Fiji's recent State of the Economy Dialogue, which brought together various technocrats, experts and commentators to examine the economy.
INSERT: Lal on economy 2nd July
Lal says the economy is simply too important for a developing country with limited resources like Fiji to be politicised and that unlike larger economies, we do not have the luxury of absorbing repeated policy mistakes and we cannot afford even one major economic policy error.
While commenting on the 2026-2027 National Budget, he highlighted that it represents an improvement in the Government's understanding of Fiji's fiscal challenges, saying the Minister correctly identifies that Fiji's principal problem is not simply revenue; it is the relentless growth in operating expenditure.
He says the Minister correctly argues that greater emphasis must be placed on productive infrastructure, and that long-term growth must be driven by the private sector rather than by ever-expanding government expenditure.
He says there is only so much that can be achieved through reducing travel, workshops, conferences and administrative expenses.
Lal says the Minister himself identified the real challenge, that Government now employs approximately 42,000 people, costing around $2.3 billion every year in wages and the support services required to sustain the public sector, equating to approximately $9 million every single day simply to keep the machinery of Government operating.
He says the public service has grown by roughly 4,500 employees over the past three years and questioned whether that expansion has translated into better productivity.
He adds that the reality is that unless the size and efficiency of the public sector are addressed, it will remain immensely difficult to contain operating expenditure in any meaningful way.
The Executive Director explains that the challenge before us is not simply reducing expenditure; it is improving productivity and ensuring that every dollar spent by Government delivers measurable value to the people of Fiji.
He also says the fiscal outlook remains challenging with the Budget projecting another year of substantial borrowing, and although Government aims to reduce the fiscal deficit over the medium term, debt will continue to rise in the short term.
He notes that economic growth has also been revised down to 1.5 percent this year and unless Fiji is able to achieve sustained higher rates of economic growth while simultaneously containing recurrent expenditure, reducing the debt burden will remain an uphill task.
Despite the challenges, Lal says there are positive elements in the Budget.
He welcomed the significant investments in health infrastructure, particularly the cancer treatment facility and primary healthcare upgrades, continued investment in education and funding for water, roads, bridges, renewable energy and port infrastructure.
INSERT: Lal on implementation 2nd July
He says these investments have the potential to lift Fiji's productive capacity.
