Stable governance, then economic growth, Malimali tells forum

Governance and stability are the foundations Fiji must fix first if it wants growth, investment and social progress, lawyer Barbara Malimali told the State of the Economy Dialogue yesterday.

Speaking from the floor after a panel discussion at the Grand Pacific Hotel, Ms Malimali argued that governance should be the starting point for tackling Fiji's economic and social challenges.

After a panel discussion on Fiji's economic outlook, Malimali described the current state of Fiji's economy as "depressing."

"But I think one thing for any economy and any economist is you need stability, which means governance is an issue," she said.

Ms Malimali said efforts to address economic growth, youth development, women's issues and broader reforms would struggle without stable and predictable governance.

"I think if we address some of these governance issues, we have stability."

She said investor confidence depended on certainty and predictability.

"If we have investors going, is this a place we can invest in? Will they, won't they? Will they increase the tax? Will they decrease the tax? Will they cut civil service pay? Will they keep it, you know, the stability?"

Ms Malimali said governance should be the baseline for discussions on the economy, human rights and other national issues.

"I think for any issue in any area, the first thing we must look at is governance and the stability of governance."

She also questioned the strength and stability of national institutions, including security agencies.

"How strong are our security forces or police forces? How stable are they?"

Ms Malimali said corruption remained a major concern.

"And, of course, the other big thing on top of it all is corruption."

Ending her contribution, she returned to what she described as the central issue underpinning Fiji's future.

"And back to the key word that I've been saying, governance."