Apenisa Waqairadovu 
While the government’s intentions to support ordinary Fijians were made clear in yesterday’s national budget announcement, the real challenge now lies in ensuring that this support reaches the most vulnerable.
The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission, along with other key stakeholders, now faces the critical task of ensuring accountability and proper implementation.
FCCC Chief Executive Senikavika Jiuta has described the new budget as holistic but stresses that its true impact must be felt at the grassroots level.
“It seems to be a holistic budget, but for the VAT reduction and duty reductions, there’s a lot for us to do there. So what we want to see is that these have to be passed down.”
Jiuta has made it clear that businesses failing to implement the changes from August 1st will face consequences.
“This 12.5 percent, it needs to be felt by them, and as the Minister had rightfully said, if this is not passed down, relevant enforcement actions will be taken. Fines or not, we will take them to court.”
While welcoming the budget, Fiji Council of Social Services Executive Director Vani Catanasiga hopes that implementation will not be a barrier.
“Before the budget was announced, sometimes the ability to use those funds at the end of the financial year to deliver services to the communities was often disrupted.”
Catanasiga says the budget reflects the government’s understanding of the challenges people face and signals a genuine commitment to addressing them.
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