Sainimili Magimagi 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad
The Ministry of Finance is giving its ministries more power over their budgets in 2025-2026 by getting rid of old, slow approval steps.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad, announced that ministries will no longer need the Permanent Secretary of Finance’s approval for every purchase. This change, starting as a pilot, aims to speed up government buying.
Prasad says this is about empowering ministries to act faster and smarter.
He stresses that they are trusting their teams more and cutting through red tape to improve how public funds are managed.
The government’s automated system, BISAN, which currently handles salaries, will now expand to manage purchasing. This move tackles Fiji’s challenge of slow procurement, especially in vital areas like health.
With support from Australia, the government plans to quickly get medicines and medical supplies, hoping to fix long-standing delays in healthcare.
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