Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad has made it clear that VAT has not been increased.
He highlighted this during the fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan when questioned on VAT being proposed to go up to 15% and basic items on 0% VAT to be increased to 15% as well.
Professor Prasad says people are going around, creating panic and saying that VAT has been increased by 15% and supermarkets have increased prices.
He says some supermarkets may have increased prices but this is not due to an increase in VAT.
The Finance Minister further says the government will make the final decision and nothing has been decided yet.
He says some people are still lying as they had done before the elections by saying that when the new government comes in, people will lose their scholarships, social welfare, and things will fall apart.
Professor Prasad says nobody talks about the allocation of $50 million redeployed, looking at all the wastage, $200 support provided to kids before going to school, the extension of the bus fare subsidy and writing off students debts.
He says he also made sure that they allocated more funding for the Fiji Roads Authority even though it is not enough to fix some of the immediate priorities.
The Deputy Prime Minister also highlights that they have been very transparent and manage their expenditure very well.
You can watch the Straight Talk interview here.
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