Ro Teimumu Slams Favouritism Toward Foreign Investors

Let them bring in their own money, was the call from Marama Bale na Roko Tui Dreketi, Ro Teimumu Kepa, as she urged Government to stop favouring foreign investors with tax breaks and local financing while local businesses struggle to compete.

Speaking at the official opening of the Great Council of Chiefs complex yesterday, Ro Teimumu challenged Fiji's traditional leaders to take charge of their vast provincial resources to unlock economic growth that would benefit the indigenous people.

"We can compare the favourable treatment granted to foreign companies ... even allowing foreign-owned businesses to take out loans from local banks and financial institutions to establish tourism ventures, for instance, then repatriate much of their profits abroad," she said.

"Let them bring in their own money. And reserve domestic money for domestic investors."

She said Government had a role to ensure a fair economic playing field, but stressed that chiefs and their people also had a responsibility to contribute more actively to the economy rather than depend on handouts.

"To achieve this," she said, "chiefs must be functional and relevant. Chiefs must be educated. They must be spiritually grounded."

Ro Teimumu said traditional leaders must now rise to the challenge of steering their people toward economic self reliance, adding that the days of depending on Government support should be left behind.

"We cannot just sit and wait. We must move, we must act, and we must lead," she said.

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