Economic policy must be guided by evidence rather than politics if Fiji is to avoid costly mistakes, says Dialogue Fiji executive director Nilesh Lal.
Speaking at the National Budget Forum 2026 in Suva on Wednesday, Mr Lal urged policymakers, political leaders and stakeholders to foster more objective and honest discussions on the economy, warning that Fiji could not afford major policy missteps.
“The economy is simply too important for a developing country with limited resources like Fiji to be politicised,” he said.
“Unlike larger economies, we do not have the luxury of absorbing repeated policy mistakes. We cannot afford even one major economic policy error.”
He said every economic decision involved difficult trade-offs because government resources were finite.
“Every major policy decision involves choices. Every decision involves trade-offs. Every dollar allocated to one priority is a dollar unavailable for another.
“Those choices must be debated honestly. They must be tested rigorously. They must be challenged without fear of political consequences.”
He said economic discussions in Fiji had increasingly become overshadowed by politics, making it more difficult to have balanced debates on policy.
“For too long, the economy has been treated as a political football in Fiji.
“Governments have become wary that any critical assessment of economic policy, or even an honest assessment of the state of the economy, is somehow a judgement on the Government itself.
“As a result, economic debate too often becomes political debate, and evidence gives way to narratives.”
Mr Lal warned that continuing this approach would come at a significant cost to the country.
“We cannot continue down that path. We need mature and objective conversations about the economy because the alternative is simply too costly.
“The objective should never be to defend economic policy. The objective should always be to get economic policy right.”
