The government has begun preparations for the 2019/2020 national budget.

Today, Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is conducting the first public in-person consultation at the Civic Centre in Labasa.

The public in-person consultation allows members of the general public including public and private sector representatives, secondary and tertiary students and Fijians living with disabilities to put forward their questions, ideas, and feedback on the national budget.

Sayed-Khaiyum says the 2019/2020 budget strategy will include strong and sustained investments and economic development as well as inclusivity and empowerment of all Fijians.

For revenue policies, the Minister for Economy says the government plans to continue to streamline taxation and administrative processes, tighten compliance, improve revenue collection and ensure tax and revenue concessions are passed onto ordinary Fijians.

 For expenditure policies, the 2019/ 2020 budget will ensure adequate funding is provided for Infrastructure development, there is continuation of funding towards provision for clean water and access to electricity, investment in education and skills development, improving medical services, increase support for SMEs, increase home ownership, ensure a well-targeted and effective social protection system and provide support for the agriculture, sugar and resource-based sectors.

The next public in-person consultation will be held in Lautoka next Saturday.

Meanwhile, for the first time, the Ministry will hold online consultations on Facebook with special sessions dedicated to secondary and tertiary students as well as the general public.

The three online sessions will be Live and this will enable the Minister for Economy to respond to questions.

The online consultations are planned for next Tuesday to Thursday.