Do not be carried away by the outward signs of recovery – Chaudhry

Fiji Labour Party Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry says their message to Fijians this festive season is one of caution and he is urging people not to be carried away by the outward signs of recovery.

In his Christmas message, Chaudhry says we must be careful with spending because the future remains uncertain.

He says the state of the Government’s finances remain precarious, heavily dependent on overseas loans and budget support from friendly nations and we are still putting most of our eggs in the basket of tourism instead of rebuilding the productive sectors of the economy.

The FLP Leader adds despite the opening of international borders and a return to tourism, the reality is far from sanguine as hundreds of families are still crying out for food assistance, scores of workers are being made redundant both in the public and private sectors and businesses are still striving to recover after months of shutdown.

He says the physical and psychological stress of the crisis is evident through increased domestic violence and abuse of women and children.

Chaudhry says a return to normalcy, economic revival and financial stability will be slow and prolonged, jobs will be difficult to come by and there may be more hardship in store for most of us.

The former Prime Minister says despite the adversities facing us, we must maintain faith and hope in ourselves and in the resilience of our people.