Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad is calling on independent institutions not to manipulate evidentiary national data gathering and analysis to suit political agendas.

He says this has been the case with the Fiji Bureau of Statistics and the Office of the Auditor General, among other institutions whose independence was almost neutralized by the previous government.

Prasad made these comments while speaking at the Evidence-Based Making for Decent Work ILO-Pacific Islands Regional Training in Nadi today.

The Minister says the legacy left behind by the previous government regarding evidence-based policymaking almost led the country to the brink of economic disaster.

“And this has resulted in the coalition government allocating more taxpayer funds to re-build these core institutions. We are currently reviewing our Statistics Act and our Audit Act to ensure that there is no interference and that these institutions are independent. And the portrait of the nation that we want to build is going to be based on the independence, transparency, and accountability of these independent institutions.

Prasad adds that the government must be able to get the unfiltered truth in real time to identify any new or emerging issues.

This he adds will also help them take swift action to mitigate risks and re-align policies and legislative approaches in this regard.