Budget lacks long-term vision, Koya tells Parliament

The 2026-2027 National Budget fails to provide a clear plan to strengthen Fiji's economy and secure long-term growth, says Opposition Member of Parliament Faiyaz Koya.

Speaking during the Budget debate in Parliament today, Mr Koya said the spending plan lacked a strategy to boost productivity, diversify the economy and build future prosperity.

"There are budgets that manage governments, and there are budgets that change the course of a nation," he said.

Mr Koya said a budget should be judged not by how much it spent or how many initiatives it announced, but by whether it left the country stronger and more prosperous.

He said the debate should focus on economic management rather than politics because the decisions made today would shape future generations.

"This budget tells us how the Government will fund its expenses today, but it doesn't answer what our next generation will do," he said.

Mr Koya argued Fiji faced deeper structural economic challenges rather than a short-term budget problem and warned against complacency as growth slowed.

Citing the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr Koya said Fiji's economy had recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic but remained vulnerable.

"Contrary to what was said yesterday by the Minister for Local Government, growth is slowing, public debt remains elevated, external imbalances are widening, structural bottlenecks remain unresolved, and Fiji continues to be vulnerable to external shocks and natural disasters," he said.

Mr Koya said the IMF projected real gross domestic product (GDP) growth would slow from 3.2 per cent in 2025 to 2.4 per cent in 2026, while public debt would remain above 80 per cent of GDP.

He said the country's current account deficit was also expected to widen and foreign reserves could weaken over the medium term.

"These are not Opposition figures. These are assessments of international institutions informed by the data provided by Fiji's own economic agencies," he said.

Mr Koya said Fiji was not facing an economic crisis but warned the country's economic foundations were under increasing pressure.

"The warning lights are flashing, the foundations are weakening, and yet this budget fails to build tomorrow's prosperity," he said.

He said Fiji needed stronger policies to lift productivity, diversify the economy and create long-term wealth or risk missing future growth opportunities.

"Productivity is the engine of prosperity, but this is largely absent from this budget. We have allocations and a budget, but where is the national productivity strategy?" he said.