2023 Fiscal Review Committee appointed
Today I announce the appointment of the 2023 Fiscal Review Committee. Its task is to examine the overall setting of the Government’s fiscal policy and make recommendations on how to rebalance Government revenue and spending, grow the economy and ensure that Government is fiscally sustainable over the next decade.
In the last decade the Government has spent more money than it has earned on its daily operations. This is before it begins to borrow for capital investment. Public debt in 2015 stood at about 46% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is now at about 85% and it is still not under control.
On coming into office the World Bank shared its Public Expenditure Review which is nearly finalised. The advice is alarming. Without significant changes to Government finances our debt to GDP will approach nearly 100% in 10 years’ time. This will leave Government no room to borrow for the urgent capital expenditure we need now.
We have to find billions of dollars to invest in health, water and sewerage, energy, roads, housing and climate adaptation. We have to be ready to respond to cyclones, floods and other natural disasters when they happen. In Government’s current economic state, we cannot do this effectively. Without public investment, we cannot improve the lives of our people and improve our rates of economic growth.
There are no magic solutions. We have some very hard economic choices in front of us. It is inevitable that there will be increases in taxation. We have to find ways to better measure and control government spending. We have to improve the environment for private sector investment and economic growth. In all this we must also ensure that our most vulnerable and economically disadvantaged people are appropriately protected. Finding the best mix of options is the challenge.
This is not a time for politics. But I want to emphasise the importance of a political environment that allows open, honest and critical discussion about our problems. In the last 15 years, this has been lacking. So the seriousness of these problems, even as they have been looming, have been concealed or understated. We cannot afford this any longer.
We promised before coming into office that we would be transparent and consult widely on economic policy. This Committee, together with the planned National Economic Summit in the third week of April, are the first formal steps we are taking to give effect to this promise.
The Committee has 14 members. They are:
•(Chair) Richard Naidu– Commercial and taxation lawyer and a partner of the law firm of Munro Leys
•(Deputy Chair) Lisa Apted – partner of KPMG Fiji, chartered accountant and tax professional
•Reaaz Ali – company Director and entrepreneur from Nadi
•Vani Catanisiga – Co-ordinator of the Fiji Council of Social Services
•Edwin Chand – a company director and businessman from Labasa
•Neelesh Gounder – Economist and Deputy Head of School (Research) at the School of Accounting, Finance and Economics at The University of the South Pacific
•Matelita Katamotu – a business adviser and eco-tourism entrepreneur in Namosi
•Fantasha Lockington – Executive Director of Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association
•Kirti Patel – Librarian and community activist from Lautoka
•Pradeep Patel – Partner of BDO Fiji, a chartered accountant and tax professional
•Naibuka Saune – Chief Executive of Merchant Finance Limited
•Viliame Takayawa – A company Director and member of the SODELPA Management Board
•Barry Whiteside – A company Director and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji
•Mereia Volavola – A business consultant and former chief executive of the Capital Markets Development Authority.
The Committee will be inviting submissions from economic stakeholders and the public and holding public consultations in the major urban centres of Fiji. Announcements on this will follow shortly. The Committee has been tasked to report back to the Government by the middle of May. The report will of course be made public.
We have a new government, committed to ensuring that we all work together in a democratic framework and that we all bring our best skills and solutions together for a successful future. So I urge Fiji citizens to get involved in this process. It is your chance to contribute your views on how your government should work for you in managing the economy and its own finances.
It is clear that we have hard choices in front of us. We all need to face them together.
How we act now will decide our success in future.