Is it about Fingers or Fiddles?

[posted 17 June 2010, 1400]

This is in response to Croz Walsh’s blog posting of June 9.

All right thinking people know who has lost four fingers and put Fiji in deep waters in the last three years. It makes little sense to solely blame the global economic recession, the withholding of aid funds, travel bans and natural disasters for our economic ills.

The root cause of our fast declining economy is the refusal of the regime to enter into inclusive political dialogue to chalk out an acceptable roadmap back to elections and constitutional rule within an agreed timeframe - well before 2014 announced by Commodore Bainimarama.

The plain truth is that the economy will continue to slide under the present administration because of its unsustainable economic policies.

Meanwhile, galloping inflation, as a consequence of devaluation last year and further weakening of the Fiji dollar since, has added hundreds more to the poverty queue.

It is foolish talk for the RBF to call for investment levels to rise to 25% from the current 13% of GDP. Where is the confidence to invest in an environment where intimidation, raids, threats and harassment have become the order of the day.

The looming inability of the state to repay its loans on time, as alluded in a recent IMF Report, poses fresh threats of further devaluation.

There is no denying the fact that the economy was in trouble even long before the takeover of December 2006. But then it should have been put back on the growth track in the last 3 years. But not so – it has been contracting ever since 2007 and is likely to show further contraction this year. In fact, the situation worsened in 2009 compared to 2007/2008.

Whatever has happened to the ‘strategic framework for change’ proclamation of April last year that the next three years would be devoted to growing the economy and fixing the infrastructure. All key economic indicators point in a different direction from that of growth.

And now there is talk of a mini budget to rake in more revenue through increased taxation. This will undoubtedly cause further hardship in a scenario where almost half the nation is struggling in the throes of poverty.