Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, held a budget consultation with members of the Ovalau community in Levuka last night. [Picture: DINFO]

Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, held a budget consultation with members of the Ovalau community in Levuka last night.

While speaking at the event, Sayed-Khaiyum outlined initiatives introduced by the Government to keep the economy and Fijian businesses afloat during the pandemic.

These included more than $500m in financial assistance disbursed to those in the formal and informal sectors, maintaining full pay for all civil servants, the Fiji Development Bank $200 million COVID-19 Recovery Credit Guarantee Scheme, Fiji Recovery Rebate Package and the COVID-19 Engagement of Private Medical General Practitioners Scheme.

He says they are looking at how their revenue has been affected, what changes they can do and what areas of expenditure they may need to expand or reduce because they need to ensure that their budget is always on track.

During the session, Levuka Town Council Special Administrator, Ben Naidu, highlighted that this was the first formal budget consultation for the island of Ovalau.

Consultations for the mini-budget are now underway, with the announcement expected to take place on 24 March.