The national debt was at $6.2 billion as of January this year.

This was highlighted by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama while speaking on the Noda Paraiminisita talkback show on Fijian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio Fiji One.

Bainimarama says the national debt is expected to increase to $8.3 billion by the end of July.

“The increase in our debt is mainly due to the impact of COVID-19 on our economy. The two recent cyclones are also contributing factors as well as the constant flooding.”

Bainimarama says the effect of COVID-19 on the economy is not within our powers, hence, the expectation is that revenue may continue to be affected.

“Government is expecting a decrease in revenue by 19 per cent. This is similar to losing 2 billion dollars of national revenue. Some businesses may continue to face difficulty especially for those in the tourism sector.” 

The Prime Minister also revealed some good indications in their estimations for the current financial year.

“Despite the challenging time we are in, we have noted that our initial revenue expectations are above what we thought we would make. The government was also able to spend less compared to the initial estimation.”

Bainimarama says Fiji like many other developing countries are expecting more support from the World Bank, ADB as well as the Japan International Cooperation Agency to help in the recovery effort.