Prof. Prasad appears on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad says the significance of Girmit Day cannot be underestimated and the expenditure is justified.

While responding to a question during fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan on allocating half a million dollars each for the celebration of Girmit Day and Ratu Sukuna Day while being cash strapped, Professor Prasad says when they got approval from the Cabinet, they had said that they would get sponsors and already have more than $100,000 sponsorship for Girmit Day and could possibly get more.

He says this is an expenditure which is worth spending and when you say consultation, commemoration, celebration and allocating money, it is like operational expenditure where government does things but government spending also helps the economy and without government spending, you cannot do anything.

He says with the girmit expenditure, this is a historic decision where Girmit Day is going to be a public holiday.

He says we do not only live by just eating and sleeping and there is much more to an identity, people and a nation.

Professor Prasad says he thinks people should be applauding the Prime Minister and the government for declaring Girmit Day a public holiday.

He says some people are asking why it is not on the 14th of May but 14th is a Sunday.

The Deputy Prime Minister says there will be a reconciliation service on Sunday and it is quite brave of the Methodist Church of Fiji to say that they hurt the people of Indian origin and want to apologise and reconcile.

He says they are not forgetting 1987 as they are the people who opposed it.

Professor Prasad adds we have to look back and learn from history but look forward to the future and the expense is totally justified and is building confidence.

You can watch the full video below:

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad has clarified that all students loans will be scrapped, and students will be offered scholarships with bonds.

Professor Prasad revealed this while responding to questions on students loans during the fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan.

He says scholarship students will be bonded to serve in the country, and if they don’t serve, the student will have to pay whatever amount was used for their studies.

He also highlighted that the student loans system was a burden to families with low income because the student after graduating, will have a debt burden hanging on them.

When questioned on what will happen to those students still on TELS, the Deputy Prime Minister Minister says the system they have created will cater for all students, and he has given assurance that no student will be affected in a bad way.

You can watch the full Straight Talk interview here.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad says as the leader of the National Federation Party, he would not have joined a government that has racist agendas.

When asked on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan on claims being made that the NFP is keeping quiet when racist comments or policies are being made or when non iTaukei are being replaced by the iTaukei in certain positions, Professor Prasad says there are people out there who are inflaming the situation and talking about suddenly Indo Fijians are being replaced by iTaukei.

He says changes are being made and he himself has made changes appointing board members who are Indo Fijians and also Indo Fijians are being replaced by iTaukei.

The Deputy Prime Minister says the last 16 years with the previous government, there was an analysis that was made and the iTaukei community felt they were being marginalised on the boards.

He says there has not been a systematic, deliberate, or concerted effort to remove people of a particular ethnic origin within the government.

Professor Prasad also says one thing people should understand is that it is a coalition government and between the three parties, they have an agreement.

He says the NFP has a history of 60 years of fighting for the rights of everybody including Indo-Fijians.

Professor Prasad says he has accepted the fact that this is a coalition government and not everything that will happen will be perceived as right but they have a job to do as a coalition government and the coalition is very solid as they are working together despite what the perception might be outside.

He says the coalition government is united and is more solid than ever knowing that the country deserves better and that is where their focus is right now.

The Deputy Prime Minister says there are appointments that have been made and there would be disagreements between the three parties in the coalition government and they accept that, as they have an agreement and also they feel that this is something they will have to manage.

He stresses the lies from their opponents before last year’s elections is continuing until now.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad says the current debt level as of April this year stands at $9.6 billion, which is equivalent to 81.8 percent of the debt-to-GDP ratio.

This has been highlighted by Professor Prasad on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan when questioned on the actual situation as far as government debt, revenue and expenditure is concerned.

He says what people will see now is that independent organisations such as the World Bank, and the IMF, have come out with their own assessment of the Fijian economy and the fiscal position of the economy.

He says they were right when they had raised issues about debt, reckless spending, controlling expenditure, and about making sure that projects were prioritised before they came into Government.

Professor Prasad says people also know that the Fijian economy had started contracting before the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also spoke about wastage that they have already discovered.

He also highlighted that with the confidence level indicators showing very positive results, they are expecting a growth rate of about more than 6 percent by the end of this year.

The Deputy Prime Minister says they also have a plan in place to reduce Fiji’s debt-to-GDP ratio to as low as 50 percent in the next 10 years or so.

You can watch the full Straight Talk video here.

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.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad will appear on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan at 7 tonight.

You can send your questions for Professor Prasad to vijaynarayan@fm96.com.fj

You can also call 9923351, 7734766 or 3314766 to register your questions with the Newsroom by 2pm today.

You can watch the Straight Talk interview on our facebook page and YouTube channel, fijivillage at 7pm today.