Bainimarama shocked by comments

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Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama speak to landowners at Vesidrua urging them to be careful of political liars. Picture: SERAFINA SILAITOGA

PRIME Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said he was “shocked” to hear that a former PM had made recent comment about taking Fiji back to the “darkest days” of Fiji’s history — the 1990s.
“He (a former PM) wants to return Fiji to the years where, during his term as Prime Minister, Fiji suffered from widespread corruption,” Mr Bainimarama said while addressing about 2800 indigenous landowners during a lease bonus payment at the Fiji Pine Group’s Drasa mill in Lautoka on Monday.

“During his term as Prime Minister, we lost the National Bank of Fiji,
the only national bank of our country, the debts of which we are still paying off today, creating inter-generational debt.

“Under his leadership, where rural people did the work, while only those
who were wealthy and those with privilege saw the benefits.

“The years where the weak 1990 and 1997 Constitutions allowed iTaukei
land to be taken and sold off permanently, rather than be protected for all time, as is the case under our Constitution today.

“The years where we were a deeply divided people, fighting over scraps, rather than working together to build our economy, making the whole pot bigger, putting more food on the table for more families.

“These are the real issues, they are the real things we need to take care of every Fijian.”

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