The public is intelligent enough to evaluate a government’s performance on their own, according to Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad. Speaking on “The Lens @177” this week about his party’s strategy to attract voters who previously supported FijiFirst, Prof Prasad noted that some votes were influenced by propaganda.
He claimed that before the 2022 election, there was significant propaganda, fear, and intimidation in Fiji. “Particularly, our Indo-Fijian voters were told by elements within the FijiFirst campaign that their social welfare, land, scholarships, and other benefits would be lost and everything would become discriminatory,” he said.
Prof Prasad stated that since the Coalition came into power, none of the predicted negative outcomes had occurred. “In fact, things have improved. We now have a much better, merit-based scholarship system. Social welfare has increased, and students still benefit from free education,” he added.
He also highlighted several government initiatives, such as providing two tranches of $200 each at the start of the school year, raising the sugar price by over $100, and increasing the minimum wage to $5 from April 1. “People have expressed their happiness with the current Government,” Prof Prasad said.
He acknowledged that a small group might have differing opinions, but emphasized that the general public is perceptive and capable of assessing the Government’s performance, noting that the Government is not merely focused on popularity contests.
Prof Prasad also mentioned ongoing issues that need addressing, such as healthcare, infrastructure, and roads, which people wish to see improved promptly. “These are matters that people complain about and want resolved, but it doesn’t mean they are not supportive of us. In fact, I believe our support as a Government has increased significantly over the past 18 months,” he concluded.