Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka believes the 2024-2025 National Budget will be welcomed by everyone.
The budget, he said, would deal with some of the issues confronting the nation.
That’s why he feels it will be welcomed by people.
And he is quite confident about that.
There are more consultations, he said.
“We are looking at those that focus on development.
“But then, there are labour issues that we now are confronting – issues like minimum wage, the survey of the various classes of the civil service and also the discussions on nurses and teachers, all those are being considered right now.”
These issues, obviously, would be at the centre of many discussions around the country.
In regards to the teachers demand for a 30 per cent pay rise, Mr Rabuka said consultations were ongoing.
“The Government will have to follow all the processes in the processing of their (teachers) protests, of their demands through the various machinery that are already in place.
“Government cannot just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to their demand.
“The communication channel is open. He (Finance Minister) is doing everything he has to do and the consultation is still ongoing.”
For whatever it’s worth, we remember his statement in the lead up to the budget announcement last year.
The 2023/2024 National Budget, he said at the time, may “bring pain” to some families.
He said this as he called for understanding ahead of the announcement of Government’s income generation and spending plans.
The budget, he said, was formulated with the objective of addressing problems and challenges faced as a nation.
He urged the nation to be guided by the vision and values of the country’s founding fathers, including that of kindness, mutual respect, and unity.
As we look ahead to next week’s announcement, we may be buoyed by the change in tune this time around.
Mr Rabuka is adamant Fijians will welcome the budget.
Now we wait and see.
There are many questions on the lips of experts.
At the end of the day though, what matters for many Fijians is what they can see.
As Mr Rabuka noted, there are some issues that are at the top of a lot of minds right now. They range from labour issues, salaries, to expectations from civil servants. There will be attention also focused on issues such as education and health for instance.
Bread and butter issues. The masses will be focused on that.
They will want to see how the budget positively impacts them.
They will ask the question … what is in it for them.
We wait now with great anticipation. || The 2024-2025 National Budget || The 2024-2025 National Budget
