FIJI’S public debt has almost tripled over the past decade while the Government now spends about $9million every day to run the public service, Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel revealed in his Budget address yesterday.
Mr Immanuel said the country’s debt had risen sharply from about $4billion in 2016 to almost $12 billion by the end of 2026.
“This is a threefold increase in 10 years, with the debt to GDP ratio doubling from around 43 percent to almost 85 percent of GDP,” he said.
He said government expenditure had also increased significantly, with total spending rising from about $3b to $4.8b over the same period.
According to the minister, the public sector now employs more than 42,000 people, an increase of more than 10,000 employees over the past decade.
“Over $1.5b per year is required just to cater for the wages and salaries of the 42,000 employees.”
To support those workers, Government spends another $800m annually on office space, vehicles, fuel, travel, electricity, telecommunications, maintenance and other operational costs.
“So, basically now we need $9m per day just to operate the public service,” Mr Immanuel said.
Mr Immanuel said the rapid growth in public spending had been driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, Cyclone Winston, infrastructure development, expanded social assistance, higher public sector wages and ongoing global economic shocks.
He said urgent action was needed to address Fiji’s fiscal imbalances and place the country’s finances on a more sustainable path.
