Tomorrow’s National budget may bring pain to Fijians. 

This was the gist of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s state of the nation address last night. 

Mr Rabuka requested understanding from every Fijian because the primary objective of the budget was to address the problems and challenged faced as a nation.

He said everybody would feel the impact of the budget. 

“As usual, there will be anxiety and anticipation from different segments of our society on the day of the national budget announcement,” Mr Rabuka said. 

 “The business community will anticipate for some relief and support in the Budget so they can further improve their business and give them the confidence to invest. Members of the public are eagerly waiting to see how the Government will reduce the cost of living, address the plight of the poor and actions to be taken to improve basic services such as health, education, water supply and better infrastructure. 

“The most vulnerable members of society will be wondering whether there will be an increase in their social welfare allowance to support their needs. Government agencies will be eager to know their allocations to carry out their respective core functions. 

“This will be the first budget of our Coalition Government and it won’t be ‘business as usual’. On a number of occasions, I have said that we will have to take some hard decisions and sacrifices that will not be pleasant but necessary for the common good.” 

Mr Rabuka said it was imperative that the Government make necessary structural adjustments to mitigate future shocks. 

“I would like to assure the nation that the 2023-2024 budget will be balanced and restrained, while still delivering core services, investing in health, skills development and improving our infrastructure. 

“The budget will be people-centred, and adjustments will be made to ensure sustainable economic growth in the short and medium term.” 

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