Our strong and vibrant economy Timoci Gaunavinaka, Nausori

All Governments in the world including all the economic superpowers like the USA, Britain, France, China, Japan and Russia make loans to survive and sustain their economies. The purpose for these loans and how it is spent is what determines good or bad governance.

During the SDL era, most of our government loans were used for operational costs for the government. These were expenses such as civil servants' pays and back-pays and the cost of running the government itself.

Today, the bulk of our loans are used for capital investments. These are expenses like building and renovating roads, bridges, schools, infrastructures, free education and etc. These developments lay the foundation that attract foreign and local investors to steam-roll our economy.

If we are to simplify this further, it will be like the management of two families. Let us call it the SDL Family and the FijiFirst Family.

While the SDL Family takes the loans to buy food, pay water and FEA bills, pay busfares to work, pay for the traditional and cultural obligations like funerals and weddings and etc., the FijiFirst Family takes the loan to renovate the house, build a small canteen, pay for their children's higher education expenses, buy groceries to start the canteen, build a new flat to rent, buy a new property etc.

The World Bank has therefore correctly stated that Fiji's $5billion debt is both manageable and no way near an ‘alarm bell' level. It also added that our economy is manageable compared to many developing nations.

To achieve all this despite the international sanctions we faced for eight of the last 11 years under the Bainimarama Government and the aftermath of being hit by the second strongest cyclone in the world, it is a testimony for the strong and stable leadership.