The North now has a Fiji Islands Revenue & Customs Authority office. Officially opening Savusavu's FIRCA branch, the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama highlighted Savusavu'a role as a key centre for economic development.
The FIRCA office provides both better accommodation for its staff and enables a more customer-focussed environment.
PM Bainimarama: "I realise there has been years of neglect in capacity building, however, such changes signal and demonstrate the objectives and focus of my Government which is in the area of, amongst other things, improved service delivery, better turnaround times, and building a streamlined system based on technology. FIRCA’s e-payment system is one such example."
Alluding to Savusavu's growth capacity, the Prime Minister said the northern town and its immediate surrounds will be at the forefront of Government's development strategy.
"Savusavu shall become a port of entry, in particular, given the imminent development of the new port facilities at Balaga Bay."
"This also ties in with the recent Super Yacht Charter Decree. The new regime will cater for the top end of the Tourism market. No doubt, Savusavu will be a must destination for the super yachts."
Referring to the potential of various tourism initiatives and trends, the Prime Minister said FIRCA "shall extend the Tourist VAT Refund Scheme to Savusavu from 1st January 2011."
Figures released yesterday 9/06/10 by the Attorney-General and Minister for Tourism Mr Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum revealed that the month of April recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals at 44,496 compared to the same period last year which was 39,302.
"These developments complement the declaration of Vanua Levu as part of the tax free region."
The PM reiterated that Government cannot work alone.
Speaking to guests at the opening of Savusavu's FIRCA office, the Prime Minister said: "We all, the private citizens, the various agencies, the tourism sector, hoteliers, suppliers of goods and services, business houses, business men and women, professionals, trade unions, employers and employees, all of us need to collaborate."
"We need to be targeted to build institutions and systems that are transparent, efficient and has built in sustainability."
"We need to be focused, we need to be honest and we need to be holistic in our approach."
"In this respect, I wish to commend the tourism sector in Savusavu which is working with the responsible Minister to develop a public private partnership to further develop the Savusavu airport runway."
The PM noted that it is through such collaboration that we all can benefit as individuals and as a country.