The Government has openly acknowledged that Fiji’s growing operational spending is unsustainable and says it must gradually shift more funding towards productive capital investment, says Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel.
Speaking at the Dialogue Fiji National Budget Forum in Suva on Wednesday, Mr Immanuel said transparency had been a key principle in preparing the 2026-2027 National Budget, with Government choosing to be upfront about the country’s fiscal pressures rather than conceal them.
“We have openly acknowledged that approximately 80 per cent of Government expenditure is operational expenditure, amounting to almost $4 billion annually,” he said.
“Every working day Government requires around $9 million simply to keep public services operating.
“This is not sustainable over the long term.”
Mr Immanuel said the current spending pattern highlighted the need for structural changes in how public funds are allocated if Fiji is to strengthen its long-term economic position.
“We therefore need to gradually change the composition of expenditure by increasing productive capital investment while slowing the growth of recurrent spending,” Mr Immanuel said.
The Finance Minister said redirecting expenditure towards infrastructure and other productive investments, while containing the growth of day-to-day operating costs, would be critical to improving the country’s fiscal sustainability in the years ahead.
