Fiji is missing significant opportunities to grow its economy by up to five percent per year if it continues to produce national budgets that overlook the resource sectors, according to economist and Unity Fiji Party leader Savenaca Narube.
Narube criticized the latest budget, presented last Friday by Finance Minister Biman Prasad, as having “failed miserably” in establishing a specific plan to harness the potentials within the resource sectors.
The former Reserve Bank governor believes that with a strategic plan and maintaining a prudent budget deficit of three percent, the resource sectors could yield a five percent average annual growth. This approach could significantly reduce Fiji’s debt-to-GDP ratio to an ideal benchmark for small economies like Fiji, roughly 40 to 45 percent of GDP.
“We have the potential, but we are not exploiting it. This has been my disappointment with the last two budgets (delivered by the Coalition Government),” Narube commented.
He highlighted that the numerous issues facing the resource sectors, particularly the sugar industry, have been known for years. Narube suggested that a plan should already be in place to help cane farmers diversify their income by planting alternative crops alongside sugar cane.
“There’s also non-sugar agriculture like dalo and cassava, which have declined. Fisheries have declined, and so have minerals. All industries in that sector have seen a downturn,” Narube noted.
“We need to address these issues and challenges with specific plans for the resource sectors,” he said. Narube emphasized the need for a “totally different mind-set” to implement such changes.
“Not the same old approaches, which I see reflected once again in this budget,” he concluded.