Opposition MP Premila Kumar has questioned the Coalition Government’s borrowing levels, claiming the country is accumulating debt at rates comparable to the COVID-19 period despite the absence of a national emergency.
In a statement, Ms Kumar said Fiji’s national debt stood at $2.87 billion at the end of 2006 and rose by $2.9 billion over the next 13 years to reach $5.73 billion by 2019.
She said that period of borrowing funded major infrastructure projects including roads, bridges, schools and ports, while also supporting recovery efforts following natural disasters such as Cyclone Winston.
According to Ms Kumar, Government borrowing increased by $3.37 billion between 2020 and 2022 as Fiji responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and four cyclones.
“Borrowing during COVID was not reckless spending. It was emergency spending to save lives, protect jobs, and prevent economic collapse,” she said.
Ms Kumar argued that the Coalition Government has borrowed about $2.6 billion in just over two years without facing a similar crisis.
“But unlike the COVID years, there has been no pandemic, no major national crisis, and no large-scale development programme to justify this level of borrowing,” she said.
She said the borrowing was particularly concerning given what she described as record levels of government revenue following increases in VAT and corporate tax rates.
“The question is obvious: If Government revenue is at record highs, why is borrowing also at record levels?” Ms Kumar asked.
She claimed that by the end of its term, the Coalition Government is projected to add another $3.3 billion to Fiji’s debt, an amount similar to what was borrowed during the height of the pandemic.
“Fijians were promised fiscal discipline, prudent financial management, and responsible government spending. Instead, they are getting higher taxes, higher borrowing, bigger deficits, and a growing debt burden with no returns,” she said.
Ms Kumar called on the Government to explain why borrowing continues to rise in the absence of a pandemic, major disaster or large-scale nation-building programme.
“The question every Fijian should ask is this: If there is no pandemic, no major disaster, and no major nation-building programme, why is the Government borrowing billions of dollars? And more importantly, where is all that money going?” she said.
