Opposition MP Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu says the budget is irresponsible and desperate.

Ratu Naiqama says it is a vote buying budget with a lot of sugar coating to make it sweet for the Fijians.

He believes the budget lacks vision for the future as its impacts will be catastrophic to Fijian families.

“It is time the Honorable Minister for Economy tells all Fijians the truth that the FijiFirst government doesn’t really care about the long-term welfare of Fijian families and as usual the Minister continues to mislead the people that everything is rosy and that the future continues to look bright. This budget brings to mind the saying that you can fool some people sometimes but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”

Ratu Naiqama claims after reviewing the budget, he maintains the government has been taking an expansionary and bullish approach for the past twelve years.

He alleges the government has made no efforts to consolidate government finances, reduce the deficit and anticipate future challenges.

The Opposition MP points out the increase in public debt from $2.8m in 2006 to almost $5.5m excluding contingent liabilities in 2018/2019 budget is a worrying trend.

Ratu Naiqama claims to finance the allocations in the budget, government will need to raise an additional five hundred million dollars from borrowing from both domestic and international platforms.

He believes as Fiji increases it debt portfolio, it’s increasing it vulnerability to exposure which could bring more burden to Fijian families.

Ratu Naiqama says he does not support the 2018/2019 National Budget.