Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama. [Source: Fijian Government/ Facebook]

Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says the economy could have gone down the drain if they did not borrow money offshore.

Speaking at the Naitasiri Provincial Council Meeting on Thursday, Bainimarama cleared the air stressing that the Fijian government is not the only government that borrowed money during the pandemic.

Bainimarama says more Fijians received assistance during the pandemic and this is what the government had to do to keep the economy afloat.

“If the Naitasiri province wants the government to undertake a development in the province, it will cost the government millions of dollars. The government will never ask people in the province to give their soli or money to help in the project. The government will request funds offshore. The government will then make payments. That’s how it works. This development once completed with help the economy grow.”

Bainimarama says some people, including politicians, continue to spread lies about the government debt, which will only take us back.

Since 2014, the government has assisted the Naitasiri province by constructing bridges and roads, upgrading schools, providing agricultural support, improving medical services, giving social welfare assistance, and supplying water and electricity to the villages.