SOMETIMES good politics may not necessarily be good economics, and good policy may not be necessarily good politics, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad.
Speaking at the Fiji Trades Union Congress National Council Meeting in Suva yesterday, he said his transition from academia to politics was very interesting.
“I have been in politics for 10 years now, eight (8) years in Opposition, and I tell people that sometimes it is good to be in Opposition first before you get into Government,” Prof Prasad said.
“Having transitioned from academia to politics is very interesting, because sometimes good politics may not necessarily be good economics, and good policy may not be necessarily good politics, but having been in government for two and a half years and delivered three budgets, I think good policy can also be good politics.
“And that is what the people have appreciated about this budget.
“I think there was a bit of panic in the Opposition, and as I said, that panic was partly because of the success of what this Government has been able to achieve in the last two and a half years.”
He said no government was perfect, but the expectation from the Coalition Government was huge.
“Because when you transition from 16 years of what I call a difficult period in this country, the expectations of the people are very, very high.
“We have also taken this view that a lot of knowledge, wisdom, besides outside of government, in NGOs, in unions, in people who run businesses, run organisations, and therefore it is the job of the Government to ensure that we work with them.”
He said their philosophy had been to engage with everyone, including the union movement.
“And I think that is producing good results in the sense that we are able to refine our policies as we go along and put in a process that builds on it.”
