Finance Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says debate on the 2016 Budget has been skewed by commentary on ethnicity instead of substantive analysis of the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

Sayed-Khaiyum gave his right of reply before parliament began voting.

Government spending has been increasingly directed towards capital works around Fiji and the Finance Minister says this is acceptable when looking at our debt levels.

“If you borrow to spend on operational costs – then you are having a party. We are not having a party – we are borrowing to build – we are building roads, we are building bridges, we are bringing assets and building airports.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says thirty five percent of the budgets are spent on capital project but this will be improved in 2016 so that taxpayers get more out of their contribution to government revenue.

The 2016 budget according to Sayed-Khaiyum has been assessed over the last eighteen months before being brought to parliament.