Prof. Prasad tells Kumar to articulate her concerns with some facts
Current Govt has little to show for its time in power - Kumar

Prof. Prasad tells Kumar to articulate her concerns with some facts

Current Govt has little to show for its time in power - Kumar

By Vijay Narayan
08/08/2024
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad and Opposition MP, Premila Kumar

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad says Opposition MP, Premila Kumar would do better in articulating her concerns with some facts after Kumar said in a statement that in almost two years, the current administration has little to show for its time in power.

Kumar says the public deserves better, and it is high time the government delivers on its promises and addresses the pressing challenges facing our nation.

She says Professor Prasad has stated that the public are intelligent enough to assess for themselves how a government is performing and further insinuated that a “fear factor” had been propagated before the election of 2022 to entice voters.

The former Education Minister says ironically, this was precisely the strategy deployed by the current government to lure voters away from the previous administration.

She says now in power, they attempt to portray an image of caring for the people, urging the public to assess their performance, yet, there is little to assess.

Kumar says the free education and scholarship systems, enhanced welfare assistance, pensions for elderly and disabled, bus fare subsidy, dignity package and rural pregnant mothers’ food voucher were all initiated and implemented by the previous government.

She says the current administration is merely reaping the benefits of someone else’s labour.

Kumar adds that regarding infrastructural development, the government has not made any significant advancements since coming into power. She says in contrast, the previous government achieved substantial developments, including 7,000 kilometres of roads, 1,200 bridges and jetties.

Kumar says the 2024/2025 Budget has significantly reduced the allocation to the Fiji Roads Authority, undermining future infrastructure projects.

She further says our health facilities remain in a deplorable state, schools are burdening parents with fundraising, the cost of living continues to skyrocket and lack of incentives for the private sector, and a lack of investor confidence is stifling the economy.

She adds poverty levels are increasing, unemployment is rising, the drug trade and abuse, all types of crimes, and ever-increasing skills crisis have reached epidemic levels, and the current government has made negligible progress in addressing these critical issues.

Kumar says indeed, the Coalition government’s promises were the propaganda to win the election and now evading this by saying that the public are intelligent enough to assess for themselves how a government is performing.

Professor Prasad says Premila Kumar as usual is fond of making generalizations.

He says Kumar talks about poverty and unemployment etc but without facts.

Professor Prasad says Kumar obviously ignores all the significant support they have provided to the people and improved much of the dilapidated infrastructure and services left by her government in the last 18 months.

FEATURE NEWS
Tubou Village ready for installation of Tui Lau and Sau ni Vanua o Lau
Tubou Village in Lau is ready to host thousands of people that will bear witness to the installation of the Tui Lau and Sau ni Vanua o Lau that will t...
9 minutes ago
LATEST NEWS
Nine people arrested for drug related crimes in Lakeba
Assistant Commissioner of Police Kasiano Vusonilawe says last month they arrested six people for drug related crimes in Lakeba and earlier this ...
6 minutes ago

Māori and Vuanirewa chiefly families reconnect through Tui Lau installation
The Māori Queen, Te Arikinui Kuini Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō, and her family have been looking forward to witnessing the installation of the Sau kei ...
11 hours ago

Lakeba Sub-divisional Hospital celebrate 50th anniversary
It was a day of celebration as the staff of Lakeba Sub-divisional Hospital celebrated the hospital's 50th anniversary with the daughter of the late ...
13 hours ago

Positive signs for Fiji as tariff talks continue ahead of extended August 1 deadline
As U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline for increased tariffs has been extended, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman ...
14 hours ago

FCCC warns of AI-generated deepfake scam using fake news video and investment claims
People are being alerted to a highly deceptive scam video currently circulating online which is a deepfake, generated using artificial intelligence ...
14 hours ago



fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan
Latest Videos

Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations

CFL radio frequencies
IN DEPTH
Professor Prasad on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan
The show will focus on the 2025/2026 National Budget.
20 hours ago

Tui Nayau and Tui Lau Installation
The ceremony for the installation of the Tui Nayau Sau ni Vanua o Lau will be held tomorrow, while the installation ceremony of the Tui Lau will be held in Tubou on Thursday.
3 days ago

CFL 40th Birthday
CFL’s 40th Anniversary celebrations to culminate with free concert at Albert Park on ...
6 days ago

TOP