Leader of the Opposition Inia Seruiratu asserts that Fiji experienced its strongest period of Gross Domestic Product growth in the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic. This growth was supported by rising productivity and investment, enhanced political stability, and a thriving tourism sector.
In response to the 2024-2025 National Budget as the Shadow Minister for Finance, Seruiratu highlighted that the shocks from COVID-19 and a series of natural disasters have severely impacted Fiji’s economy, causing widespread production disruptions and job losses.
Seruiratu also pointed out that the increasing frequency of adverse weather events has complicated Fiji’s development strategies and plans.
He noted that Fiji’s real GDP declined by 15.2 percent in 2020 and is estimated to have contracted by an additional four percent in 2021, with the prolonged effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy still unfolding.
Seruiratu criticized the Minister for Finance for alleging that the Coalition Government inherited a large public debt and a chaotic fiscal situation, calling these claims “nonsense.”
“Let’s refer to the data on record. Before 2012, our debt to GDP ratio hovered around 50 percent. Between 2013 and 2019, our ratio was below 50 percent, reaching as low as 43 percent in 2015. There was a slight increase in 2016 due to TC Winston. We were managing very well until the onset of COVID-19,” he stated.
“These are facts… and for the Minister for Finance to insinuate otherwise is misleading,” he added.
Seruiratu emphasized that the nine years of contained debt to GDP ratio, coupled with consecutive economic growth, enabled significant investment in infrastructure. The support provided to Fiji Airways, he noted, was crucial in allowing Fiji to recover quickly from the effects of COVID-19.
He attributed the slow and steady economic growth during the previous Government’s tenure to vast infrastructural development that spurred growth and continues to do so today.