The revelation that close to 30 per cent of Fiji’s population are living in poverty proves the so-called ‘Bainimarama Boom’ is a massive failure, says National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad.
He said the recent Fiji Bureau of Statistics Household Income and Expenditure Survey was conducted between February 2019 to February 2020 – “before COVID-19”.
According to the survey conducted in 6000 households across the country, more than 258,000 Fijians were poor and the majority, 160,450, lived in rural areas.
Prof Prasad said the rate of poverty could be around 50 per cent now due to massive unemployment, pay cuts and reduced hours.
