As the country awaits the 2015 National Budget address today, there are positive indications on the ground with record investor confidence, heightened expectation of job opportunities and better government services for the people.
Some of priority areas are expected to be cost of living, education, health, water supply, roads, bridges, rural development, tourism, agriculture, trade and industry, social welfare, poverty alleviation, legal aid and improved Police service.
A major focus is expected to be the reform of the civil service to ensure that civil servants provide efficient services to the taxpayers of the country.
This has been an area of concern for a number of years and the Bainimarama led government says it will start off the reform next year.
Talks have already been held with the World Bank to assist in this area.
There will definitely be no shortage of financial assistance for Fiji next year as many countries including China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and the European Union have already indicated that they are ready to assist in priority areas.
The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank have also said that they are ready to provide financial assistance in key areas.
Many investment projects are also in the pipeline and observers say investor confidence is at an all time high in the country.
People will also eagerly await the announcement today as they would like to find out the increases and decreases in taxes and duties as this will affect their pockets.
This is where the government has to play a balancing act to ensure that it makes spending allocations for the benefit of the nation and also makes decisions on where the funding will come from to support the expenditure.
One of the main areas in next year’s budget is expected to be water.
The man who is now responsible for the country’s infrastructure and transport sector which includes the road network, water supply system and electricity supply is now building on his situational awareness to ensure that government services in these areas are enhanced and developed for the people of the country.
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Pio Tikoduadua confirms that a lot of work will be done on the water supply systems around the country.
Tikoduadua said water is a basic need and the structure set up by the government should deliver consistent services.
He said he is now focusing on the Water Authority of Fiji and what has to be done to improve and upgrade the services for the people of the country.
Tikoduadua said the challenge is huge.
However they started off with the major allocation to improve the road network from 2012.
He said the focus will also shift to the water supply systems next year.
Tikoduadua said they will also ensure that the quality of water is consistent throughout Fiji.
He has also promised residents from Delainavesi to Veisari that intermittent water supply will be a thing of the past for them.
He said four booster pumps have been ordered and the long standing problem will be fixed soon as he asked the Water Authority team what is the solution for this.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama has already said that a concerted effort is needed to tackle this problem and to make sure that every person’s constitutional right is protected.
This year, the government provided the Water Authority of Fiji with a budget of $129.6 million, an increase of $32 million from last year.
The FijiFirst led government had said before the elections that it would provide 91,250 litres of water free of charge per year to Fijian households earning less than a total annual income of $30,000.
Work on roads is expected to continue and a review of the Fiji Roads Authority is also expected.
A record budget of $541.5 million was allocated for Education this year as we saw significant increases in grants to the schools, the introduction of the National Toppers Scholarship Scheme and the Tertiary Education Loan Scheme.
Next year, fee free education is expected to be extended to kindergartens.
The grant allocation per child for schools are also being reviewed according to the Education Minister.
However more details will be released later.
For health, the FijiFirst had said that it will provide free medicine prescribed by a doctor and currently under price control for all Fijians who earn less than $20,000 a year.
This includes medicines for Non Communicable Diseases.
An allocation of $8‑million will be provided for this assistance to the low‑income individuals.
The FijiFirst had also confirmed that it will continue to control the price of basic food items such as rice, flour, potatoes, dhal, cooking oil, and pharmaceutical and medical products.
FijiFirst also said that it will continue to place zero VAT on powdered milk, rice, edible oil, tin fish, flour, sharps and medicine.
The existing social security system for those pensioners who have never been a member of the FNPF will continue and the age of eligibility will be lowered to 68 from 1st July 2015, and then further lowered to the age of 66 from 1st July 2016.
Meanwhile Fijivillage spoke to people on the streets on what they expect from the 2015 National Budget.
Duties and taxes on all items can never be reduced as this would result in a lower level of revenue for the government.
The approach taken at the moment is to provide targeted assistance to people and also working out certain types of assistance based on the income levels of the people.
Finance Minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum will deliver the 2015 National Budget address at 10am today.
The Leader of the Opposition, Ro Teimumu Kepa said the opposition will be happy if the government gives some relief to the people by looking at reducing the cost of living, reviewing the minimum wage rates, providing better health services and ensure that schools get sufficient funds.
Ro Teimumu said SODELPA proposes that $50 million be put aside to assist in the reduction of the prices of selected goods.
Fijivillage questioned Ro Teimumu where the 50 million dollars should come from as this would mean an increase in allocation that would mean that the government would have to source the 50 million from somewhere.
Ro Teimumu just said that the government should take measures to assist the people.
National Federation Party Leader, Biman Prasad has already stated that they would like VAT to be reduced from 15 to 10 percent.
Reducing VAT by that amount would result in a loss of government revenue by $300 million.
Ro Teimumu and Prasad did not attend the Pre-Budget Planning Session when they were invited by the government.
Both said that they had other commitments and could not make it to the session.
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