Members of the public are capable of evaluating the performance of the government on their own.
Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad made this statement during The Lens @177 this week when questioned about his party’s strategy to attract voters who previously supported FijiFirst.
Prof Prasad mentioned that sometimes votes are cast based on propaganda. He also claimed that before the 2022 election, Fiji experienced “big propaganda, fear, and intimidation.”
“Especially our Indo-Fijian voters were told by certain elements within the FijiFirst campaign that their social welfare, land, scholarships would be taken away and everything would be discriminatory,” he stated.
Prof Prasad noted that after the Coalition came into power, people realized that these claims were unfounded. He said, “In fact, everything has improved. We have a much better, merit-based scholarship scheme, increased social welfare, and continued free education for school students.”
He added, “Furthermore, we provided two tranches of $200 each at the beginning of the school year, the sugar price increased by over $100, and the minimum wage rose to $5 from April 1.”
Prof Prasad expressed that the general public is very pleased with the current government. He acknowledged that while there are always some individuals with differing opinions, most people are intelligent enough to see the government’s efforts.
“The public can assess and see what is happening. They recognize that this government is not focused on a popularity contest,” he said.
He admitted that there are still issues that need addressing, such as healthcare, infrastructure, and road conditions, and people want these improvements to be made quickly.
Prof Prasad concluded, “These are issues people complain about and want resolved, but that doesn’t mean they are not supportive. In fact, I believe our government’s support has significantly increased over the past 18 months.”