Over 50,000 viewers joined Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum in Fiji's first-ever online budget consultations, as the Ministry of Economy prepares for the announcement of the 2019-2020 National Budget. During the consultations, nearly 1,000 contributions in total were submitted by Fijians locally and from around the world.
From March 5-7 the Attorney-General and Minister for Economy commented in real-time to Fijians who participated in consultations for secondary students, tertiary students and the general public, answering questions, considering new and innovative ideas and responding to feedback from interested Fijians.
"First and foremost, let me thank all of those who took the time to post a question, idea or feedback during any of our online consultations. Our sessions have been a wonderful welcome to Facebook as we've just launched the official Facebook page, which you can follow @FijiAG," said the Attorney-General. "Bringing our budget consultations online has unlocked an unprecedented diversity of thought, opinions and perspectives, from secondary school students in Taveuni, to university students in Lautoka, to members of the general public from all across the country. I didn't have the chance to respond to every post, but rest assured, everyone's comments and concerns have been noted and reviewed by the team at the Ministry of Economy. Again, thank you for joining us."
All three online consultations are published on the Fijian Government Facebook page. The Ministry of Economy encourages all interested Fijians to read through the questions and responses from the Minister to learn more about how national budgets impact the nation and the well-being of the Fijian people.
If you didn't have a chance to participate in the online consultations, there are two remaining in-person budget consultations on 9 March in Lautoka and 16 March in Suva. All Fijians can also make written submissions. Written submissions can be handed in on the day of an in-person consultation or can be posted, hand delivered or e-mailed by 26 April 2019 to the following addresses:
POSTAL DELIVERY
Ministry of Economy
PO Box 2212
Government Buildings
Suva
HAND DELIVERY
Ministry of Economy
Level 10
Ro Lalabalavu House
Victoria Parade
Suva
EMAIL
budgetconsultation@economy.gov.fj