Over 50,000 viewers joined Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum in Fiji’s first-ever online budget consultations.

During the consultations, nearly 1,000 contributions were submitted by Fijians locally and from around the world.

From March 5th to 7th Sayed-Khaiyum commented in real-time to Fijians who participated in consultations for secondary students, tertiary students, and the general public, answering questions, considering new and innovative ideas and responding to feedback from interested Fijians.

Sayed-Khaiyum thanks all of those who took the time to post a question, idea or feedback during any of the online consultations.

He says their sessions have been a wonderful welcome to Facebook as they’ve just launched the official Facebook page.

The Minister says bringing the budget consultations online has unlocked an unprecedented diversity of thought, opinions, and perspectives, from secondary school students in Taveuni to University students in Lautoka, to members of the general public from all across the country.

He adds that he didn’t have the chance to respond to every post, however, everyone’s comments and concerns have been noted and reviewed by the team at the Ministry of Economy.

The Ministry of Economy encourages all interested Fijians to read through the questions and responses from the Minister to learn more about how national budgets impact the nation and the well-being of the Fijian people.