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The Consumer Council of Fiji says the budget will trigger consumer spending which is needed for positive growth of the economy.

Chief Executive, Seema Shandil says the 2021-2022 National Budget is a big bold budget that will create an enabling environment to foster a financially strong and resilient economy that will ultimately benefit all Fijian consumers.

Shandil says the various fiscal and economic policies announced by the Minister of Economy has sent a strong signal that they are committed to economic recovery from COVID-19 and are ready to keep spending to speed up the recovery.

The budget initiatives will encourage socio-economic empowerment as a catalyst for a consumption-driven economy.

She adds additional direct support to consumers through various policy announcements such as unemployment support of over $200 million is also praiseworthy as it will ensure consumers have the ability to access basic goods and services.

This will provide much-needed relief to thousands of eligible Fijians whose income has been affected due to the pandemic.

The Consumer Council Chief Executive further says other social protection and relief incentives announced in the budget such as extended bill payment period for consumers, decrease in traffic infringement fines, waiver of fees such as birth certificate registration and land survey will also ease some level of burden on consumers.

These initiatives will put money back in the pockets of Fijian consumers.

She adds they have also been getting calls from a lot of consumers and small businesses saying that they are not being able to make their utility payments.

She says they had also made a submission regarding this to the government and it gives them the joy to see that the Government will be meeting the full cost of 34.01 cents per unit for 100 kilowatts of power usage for eligible Fijians.

Apart from these policies directly targeting consumers, many other initiatives announced by the Government will ultimately have a ripple effect along the entire economic chains – leading to economic growth and consumer welfare amidst the current pandemic.