Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has assured Fijians that today鈥檚 National Budget will be a 鈥渂alanced鈥 one.
Mr Rabuka said Fijians could expect a carefully crafted Budget to reflect the country鈥檚 economic pressures while responding to public demands for cost-of-living relief and improved services.
鈥淭he upcoming budget will take into account the rising cost of living, global price fluctuations, and our current debt levels,鈥 Mr Rabuka said in a pre-budget statement yesterday.
His words come as the Government prepares to table its third national budget since taking office鈥攁rguably its most critical yet, as inflation continues to bite and families demand real change.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Biman Prasad had earlier told the Fiji Sun during that the budget would build on the momentum of the past two years, with a clear focus on shielding the country from looming global economic shocks.
鈥淲e are in a much stronger position to tackle the expected global economic slowdown,鈥 Mr Prasad said.
He pointed to major risks including the Iran-Israel and Ukraine wars, tariff disputes, and inflationary pressure on small economies like Fiji鈥檚, which rely heavily on tourism, remittances, and foreign investment.
鈥淭his will be a budget that anticipates some of those headwinds,鈥 he said.
鈥淲e are very mindful to ensure our domestic policies cushion the impact.鈥
Fiji鈥檚 economy, he said, had grown by around four per cent in 2024, surpassing the original forecast of 2.8 per cent鈥攇iving the Government room to slightly increase spending and adjust the deficit while keeping debt manageable.
鈥淭here will be no big surprises, but there will be good news in the budget for everybody,鈥 he added.
Mr Prasad also confirmed that public calls for increased social welfare allowances and greater support for vulnerable communities had been heard and carefully considered.
鈥淲e listened very carefully to the submissions. We may not be able to do everything this year, but we鈥檝e received some very good ideas,鈥 he said.
He praised the high number and quality of submissions from across society鈥攆rom professional bodies to ordinary Fijians.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the beauty of creating an environment where people feel free to speak up,鈥 he said.
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