Govt needs to fix work visa issue in Immigration Dept immediately – Halabe

Leading garment manufacturer, Mark One Apparel’s Managing Director Mark Halabe is pleading with the government to fix the visa section in the Immigration Department as soon as possible.

While speaking during the Dialogue Fiji Post Budget Forum that was held at Tanoa Hotel in Suva, Halabe says recently, he has come across people saying that we are in a crisis and in various meanings.

Halabe mentioned that one example he has come across is the five-star project in the Yasawas in which the developers have made it clear that they will not start the project until the government fixes the visa problem in Fiji.

He says there are hundreds of millions of dollars in the Yasawas that are badly needed for the economy.

He adds this is a lesson upfront and he understands that the government has mentioned that they are going to focus on this issue and make sure it's fixed, but it is more than that as it is critical.

While responding to this, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Professor Biman Prasad agreed with Halabe and said it could have been done yesterday, and the government should have sorted that out by now.

He says there is a lot more focus in this area which a reset group is looking at and hopefully, this issue will be a thing of the past.