Jale Daucakacaka 
Leader of the Opposition Inia Seruiratu
The Opposition Party has challenged the coalition government to present a national budget that will equate to or even surpass the growth achieved by the previous administration.
Leader of the Opposition Inia Seruiratu says the government needs to create an environment for investment and growth.
He further questioned what the government could introduce in the announcement that would differ from what the previous administration had done.
“Let us just grow the economy. The economic growth in terms of GDP from six billion to about 11 billion. We have the foreign reserves at three point something billion. Liquidity was at more than two billion. Those are the macroeconomic fundamentals that we put in place. They need to leverage that and carry on from there.”
Seruiratu says the nation needs to hear a consistent message from the government to alleviate doubts and fears among all stakeholders.
Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad responded by saying the Opposition Leader should wait for the budget announcement, where he (Seruiratu) will then know how the government will deal with the economic mess created by the FijiFirst government.
The Finance Minister says Seruiratu was an integral member of the previous government and turned a blind eye to wastage, pilferage, and mismanagement.
Meanwhile, the 2023–2024 national budget announcement will be made in Parliament on June 30th.
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