Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka speaking at the People's Alliance Thanksgiving church service.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has expressed his gratitude to Fijians this week, acknowledging their support as the government clears one of its initial hurdles in passing the national budget.

However, Rabuka also offered his apologies to party supporters and all Fijians, admitting that the first budget formulated by the Coalition Government may not have lived up to their expectations.

Speaking during the People’s Alliance thanksgiving church service, the Prime Minister explained that the government had only been given a four-month window to assess Fiji’s economy and subsequently develop a budget while also incorporating the feedback received from the population.

Despite facing significant criticism over the 2023–2024 budget, Rabuka emphasized that it was through collaborative teamwork that they managed to secure its passage.

“Expectations from the public is high and that in terms of what we are supposed to achieve as a government and we apologize if we have failed to meet your expectations in terms of the exchange we had in Parliament.”

While recognizing that it would be impossible for the government to fulfil all of its promises, Rabuka highlighted that they had succeeded in incorporating some of their election pledges into the budget.

He also stressed that it was unrealistic to expect that every individual would be pleased with the government’s decisions.

To illustrate this point, he referenced an incident involving the Minister for Children, Women, and Social Protection, Lynda Tabuya, who had to utilize a police escort to reach Nausori airport on time for her flight last Saturday.

“It may be impossible for us to meet your demands, one of us was rushing to fly overseas and so she asked the police to help her yesterday afternoon, she was heavily criticized on Facebook for stopping traffic. The Minister was trying to get to her destination and so if you see us causing traffic, please forgive us as we are also doing our work.”

Rabuka defended Tabuya’s actions, explaining that the Minister’s overseas trip was scheduled to attend an important meeting.

Nonetheless, the Prime Minister emphasized that such actions would not be encouraged in the future, except under exceptional circumstances.

In conclusion, Rabuka appealed for continued support and prayers from both his supporters and all Fijians as the government navigates the challenges ahead.

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