Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says his FijiFirst Government is steadily reversing the neglect of past governments.

“And their failure to properly develop our nation in the four decades since Independence. Wherever you look, we are getting things done,” he said.

He was speaking at the opening of the final stage of the Buca Bay Road in Cakaudrove yesterday. It cost more than $73 million. The first stage cost more than $40 million.

“Our political opponents, of course, continue to spread the lie that we are actually doing little or nothing at all.

“They are blind to everything around them because they need to cover up a basic fact,” he said.

“That when they had the chance to govern, they did little or nothing except for themselves and their supporters. The rest of the nation was left to fend for itself.

“Unlike them, I believe development is for everyone. The FijiFirst Government doesn’t discriminate. We don’t pander to vested interests or the elite. We look for areas of need wherever they may be in Fiji and make them the priority. We put our tax dollars where they are needed most.

“Development based not on who you know or who you voted for but on genuine need.

“One of the biggest lies that SODELPA continues to spread is that we are eroding the rights of the iTaukei when the reverse is true. We have strengthened those rights and ensured that they are protected for all time.

“And I urge every iTaukei to examine the truth for yourself by reading our Constitution that we had translated into iTaukei.

“Not a single inch of iTaukei land has been lost under my Government prior to the election, under the Constitution or under the FijiFirst Government.

“In fact, it is because of this Constitution and my Government that the iTaukei today are more empowered than ever before. And their land is more secure than ever before.

“Always remember that many of these liars were among those who brought the country to its knees in 2000. They have nothing else to offer but more of the same. More fear. More suspicion. More hatred.

“A nation stuck in the past and turning in on itself rather than a nation that is united and outward looking – searching for better opportunities for everyone.

“I have a fundamentally different view of the Fijian people than they do. They think ordinary Fijians are stupid and can be manipulated into supporting them with their pathetic scare campaigns. Whereas I preside over a Government – the FijiFirst Government – that respects the intelligence of the Fijian people and values their common sense.”

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