Opposition parliamentarian Inosi Kuridrani says the only boom Fiji is experiencing is a boom of uncontrolled and unsustainable debt management.
He said this while delivering his response to the 2022-2023 budget in Parliament on Monday. Mr Kuridrani said with poverty hovering at around 40 per cent while an additional 20 per cent were facing difficulties, there was no boom.
The Social Democratic Liberal Party MP said Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum should truthfully inform Fijians about the country’s financial situation.
“Our debt balance to GDP is at an unprecedented level at 90 per cent and to include the contingent liabilities we are hitting more than 100 per cent, is that the boom,” Mr Kuridrani said.
“Our debt to GDP ratio is 90 per cent against a benchmark for developing countries of 40 per cent, is this the nine years of sustained economic growth as continued to be repeatedly claimed by this Government, you be the judge.
Mr Kuridrani said Mr Sayed-Khaiyum needed to come clean and inform Fijians that the country was currently in a very tight fiscal space and the debt burden has continued to rise due to their poor governance, biased policies, and lack of internal control and standard procedures.”
He said the highest growth rate Fiji experienced was from 1971 to 1975 at 7.5 per cent.
