POLITICIANS must accept that public expectations have to be balanced against fiscal reality, because Government cannot afford to solve every economic problem facing the people.
Chairman of the Fiscal Review Committee and Suva lawyer Richard Naidu issued the warning yesterday, saying rising public demands on governments were being felt not only in developing countries but also in developed economies.
Mr Naidu said many countries were facing growing pressure from ageing populations, rising pension bills and broader public expectations for governments to intervene in economic hardship.
“People now seem to routinely demand that governments fix every problem that people have,” he said.
He said while the current situation was a cost-of-living crisis because prices were rising, it could also be viewed as a sign that people’s general welfare was declining.
“And everywhere people are demanding that politicians do something about it, that politicians solve every problem.
“The reality, of course, is that governments cannot do that. They haven’t got the tools with which to do it.”
Mr Naidu said the political environment, particularly with the influence of social media, had created pressure on politicians to respond to every economic difficulty faced by the public.
“And there comes a point where aspirations must meet reality and politicians just can’t do that.”
Mr Naidu said the Fiscal Review Committee report had identified what it called a “triple threat” facing Government.
He said the first threat was Fiji’s deep financial challenge, with the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio standing at 85 per cent as of March 31, 2023.
This left Government with limited capacity to borrow or spend what was needed to improve public services, human development, climate resilience and meaningful economic growth.
Mr Naidu said the second threat was Government’s limited financial capacity to respond to another major economic shock, such as a pandemic, a major cyclone or an earthquake in a populated area.
“We forget that in the last three or four years we have had no major cyclones, we have had no major events.”
He said the third threat was the need to find billions of dollars for critical infrastructure that could not wait.
