‘We’ll be funding new Fiji Police stations in Nakasi, Nadi, Lautoka and Nalawa, we’re PROMOTING 257 OFfiCERS to senior positions, we’re recruiting 137 NEW OFfiCERS TO bolster the ranks of our Police, and we are regularising special constables. And we’ve a

We’re offering a similar deal for the construction of new private hospitals and medical service centres. If you build or upgrade a hospital, depending on your level of investment, you can be granted up to a 20-year tax holiday on your new hospital or up to a 60% tax deduction on your renovation works.

Mr Speaker, constitutional rights can’t be put on hold just because we’re living through a crisis –– including every Fijian’s right to housing. And nothing we build over the next year will matter more than high-quality homes that families can call their own.

In partnership with International Finance Corporation, we’re finalising a public-private partnership financing model to allow for the construction of multi-story housing projects across Viti Levu. Rather than entrench residential inequality, these mixed strata-housing units will be made affordable for families at many different income levels. We’re not only continuing the First Home Buyer’s Programme, it’s becoming more generous. For households who earn less than $50,000 a year, they will be granted $30,000 to build their first home. And $15,000 to buy their first home. For families earning above $50,000 annually, they can be granted $20,000 to build their first home and $5,000 to buy their first home.

And –– once again –– we’re looking to businesses to lend creativity to the equation. Among the over 1,600 duty concessions, we’ve removed duties on raw materials, machinery and equipment for the construction of public rental housing.

The 100% tax deduction on reduced commercial rents by landlords from 1 April 2020 will now be extended until 31 December 2021. And businesses who invest in new subdivision projects for both residential and commercial lots will not only have duties waived on construction inputs, they can access up to 60% in tax deductions. And any profit they make selling the newly developed lots will be tax exempt. Mr Speaker, this boom in construction could be the story of Fiji’s economic comeback. We can build our way back to a better Fijian economy. And when our doors are open to the world again, they will see a Fiji that is bigger, more resilient and more advanced; one that turned this crisis into an opportunity to become a stronger nation. Mr Speaker, I know a great many members of our diaspora communities wish they could be in Fiji right now, given how well we’ve fared against COVID. We’ve long wanted to welcome more of these former Fijians back home to reverse the brain and investment drain that has plagued our development since 1987. That’s why we’re making reclaiming Fijian citizenship more attractive than ever by reducing the associated fees. And to generally open Fiji to more investors or expatriates who want to contribute to our economic revival, we’re setting up new categories of permanent residency, especially targeted at those looking to build new businesses or begin new careers in Fiji. But in light of these new residency categories, we will introduce more stringent measures for one to obtain Fijian citizenship. Mr Speaker, these incentives are only possible due to the success of Fiji’s COVID-Containment strategy, so I’d be remiss not to thank our doctors, nurses and other healthcare heroes whose hard work has paved the way towards an economic recovery. Along with our disciplined forces, who were integral to our containment campaign from day one.

Our health protection directives demanded a great deal from the public. And I’d like to thank the officers of our disciplined forces for literally saving lives by enforcing those directives to the letter –– including the ongoing maintenance of our nationwide curfew. I’d like to particularly thank the RFMF who –– as we gather here –– are monitoring government-funded quarantine facilities to support the impregnable wall we’ve built between Fijians and border quarantine cases of COVID-19.

Now, other countries are following Fiji’s footsteps, bringing their security forces on board to enforce COVID-related restrictions. But Fiji was first –– our officers worked day and night to pioneer a rigorous model COVID Containment that is now saving lives across the region and the world. And we will continue to see our officers have access to the funding they need to remain a shield between Fijians and threats to their wellbeing.

We’ll be funding new Fiji Police stations in Nakasi, Nadi, Lautoka and Nalawa, we’re promoting 257 officers to senior positions, we’re recruiting 137 new officers to bolster the ranks of our Police, and we are regularising special constables. And we’ve allocated another $6.0 million to complete the second phase of our Fiji Police Reform and Restructure Programme.

Projects of urgent, potentially lifesaving importance will continue to be funded. The remainder of the World Bank funding we received to connect Vanua Levu to Viti Levu will be used to carry the “Northern Connectivity” Project to 42 more schools and health centres in the Northern Division. These upgrades will bring reliable access to power, equipment and internet, as well as other emergency portable satellitebased solutions which will ensure that vital information reaches rural and maritime communities in the Northern Division and appropriate assistance is deployed

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