The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has labelled Fiji’s growth as robust and one that can be greatly enhanced by faster and deeper structural reforms.
The IMF team led by Mr Chikahisa Sumi was in Fiji for 15 days during which they met with over a hundred people, including Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Mr Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
Mr Sumi said while their projection of three (3) per cent economic growth for Fiji in 2013 is slightly less than the Reserve Bank of Fiji’s projection of 3.2 per cent, the difference was negligible.
However, he said there are some areas of concern that would need to be addressed if Fiji wants to meet its medium term goal of five (5) per cent growth such as investor confidence, increased resilience to both domestic and international shocks and reducing the 8.6 per cent unemployment rate.
“To achieve higher growth and reduce unemployment, faster and deeper structural reform is now urgently needed,” Mr Sumi said this afternoon.
He said these issues would need to be ironed out before Fiji can progress in a manner it is capable of.
“The 2013 deficit target of 2.8 per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is on track to be met, with strong VAT (Value Added Tax) revenue collections and somewhat slower-than-planned expenditure in the first half of 2013,” Mr Sumi said.
He commended the Fijian Government for the infrastructural growth and encouraged Fiji to look at developing businesses such as call centres due to its advantageous time zone as well as enhance agricultural activities as it enjoys the warm climate.
The expert has encouraged policy makers to engage in broad consultations with stakeholders including small and medium sized businesses and civil society.
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