Delay means we have to dig deeper into our reserve

The Bula Bubble is unlikely to see any activity soon with Australia and New Zealand as hoped because of the COVID-19 situation in those countries.

This means that we have to dig deeper into our reserve as our resilience to crises is tested to the extreme. We have never been in this dire situation before. Usually it is a climate change adversity. But this is a health crisis and it has brought with it unprecedented economic problems.

With climate change events we know pretty well where we are heading and what we need to do to get back on our feet.

But it is not the same with COVID-19. The future is unknown because we are dealing with an unpredictable enemy and the spread of the killer virus can take us by surprise if we are not vigilant at the border. New Zealand has learned from this painful experience. After it declared itself COVID-19 free, it got hit by a second wave of confirmed cases - not through community transmission but through Kiwis returning home from highly infected countries like the United Kingdom and India.

This has put a dampener on a plan to allow Kiwis to bring their families to Fiji on a holiday this month during the school term break which is only days away. Fiji would also be wary because the two countries, our two largest sources of tourism, are not COVID-19 free.

We cannot just throw our hands in the air in despair and give up. That would not be in the true Fijian spirit. We are not alone in this COVID-19 battle. Millions of people around the world are grappling with the grim reality of what we are all facing.

Only those who are resilient with a positive mindset and a go-get it attitude will survive this crisis.

As the border remains closed, we need to be creative with innovative ideas on how we can generate economic activities that will create new livelihoods and jobs.

It goes without saying that our land, fisheries and forestry resources offer a lot of potential for incomegenerating projects. A sister idea is research and innovation which is crying out for more investment. It will unleash a knowledge economy that will benefit the country many folds.

The reality is that we have not tapped our full potential. When we do, we will see our nation develop in unimaginable ways just like Singapore and Israel.

We cannot just throw our hands in the air in despair and give up.