Opposition MP Premila Kumar has warned that rising global fuel prices and a sharp expansion in public debt have left Fiji ill-prepared to shield households and businesses from an intensifying cost-of-living shock. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Kumar said the government’s fiscal position — she says public debt rose from about $9.1 billion to roughly $11 billion by April 2026 — limits its ability to respond if international fuel market pressures persist.
Kumar said the Coalition Government entered the current crisis with “limited fiscal flexibility” despite what she described as record revenue collection over the past three-and-a-half years. She pointed to 2024–25 revenue collections exceeding $4 billion and traced part of that intake to tax changes since the coalition took office: VAT was raised from 9 percent to 15 percent before being lowered to 12.5 percent, and corporate tax increased from 20 percent to 25 percent. Yet, she argued, borrowing has continued apace and productive investment has fallen.
“The government is expected to borrow more than $2 billion by the end of July 2026. Yet there is little evidence of major new infrastructure projects, hospitals, roads, markets or other transformative developments that would justify borrowing on such a scale,” Kumar said, questioning the efficiency of public spending and the composition of outlays. She also highlighted growing expenditure pressures, citing an annual civil service wage bill of about $1.3 billion and debt servicing costs of roughly $534 million a year.
Kumar singled out what she described as an oversized executive and questioned travel and overseas mission spends. The opposition MP noted the current administration includes 35 ministers and assistant ministers and called for “greater discipline” in government expenditure to free up room to protect households from rising transport, freight and food costs driven by fuel price increases.
As immediate relief measures, Kumar proposed a package of steps she said could be implemented quickly: temporary reductions in fuel excise duties and VAT on fuel, introduction of a fuel price stabilisation mechanism, cuts to non-essential government spending, a review of Fiji’s overseas missions, suspension of taxpayer funding for political parties, and targeted support for micro, small and medium enterprises as well as temporary relief for market vendors and small traders.
Kumar’s statement comes amid earlier warnings about the global supply risks feeding into domestic pump prices. The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission in March warned that tensions around the Strait of Hormuz raised the prospect of global supply disruption, and Fiji Airways last month imposed operational limits on some regional routes because of fuel supply issues at destination airports. The government has announced some cost-cutting measures and travel restrictions for officials, but Kumar said those actions fall short of the targeted relief she is proposing.
The opposition’s latest push frames the fuel problem not only as an external shock but as a test of fiscal management and priorities. With the country facing projected additional borrowing by July, Kumar urged the government to demonstrate “decisive leadership and practical action” to ease pressures on ordinary Fijians rather than relying solely on households to absorb higher costs.