Gap in intelligence

It is inconceivable and incomprehensible that Opposition leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, says that our Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama, should seriously consider removing Attorney-General and Economy Minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, from managing government finances.

To also say that our A-G should be sacked for bringing the economy to its knees just confirms Rabuka’s lack of understanding of economics, an area which he simply cannot comprehend.

First and foremost, Mr Rabuka, the Opposition, and everyone else in this country needs to understand that we cannot be measuring and comparing the economies of 1980 with 1990 or 1990 with 2000 or 2000 with 2010 or 2010 with 2020 or 2020 with 2030.

There are many factors to consider when we look at the past, the present, and the future.

When we look back at the past six to 11 decades, economic development presented all countries with many contradictions.

There have been unprecedented rises in per capita income with many developing countries like Fiji. Over this time we’ve crossed the threshold from low-income to middle-income status.

Time changes and with it circumstances, and we need to respond in a like manner to these underlying forces of change. We need to broaden our concept of development beyond that of narrow economic thinkers like Mr Rabuka and the likes.

We should count ourselves lucky to have someone as brilliant as Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum taking care of our economy because neither Rabuka, nor anyone in the Opposition can do a better job than that of our Prime Minister, A-G and their clever team. If there is one who should be removed from parliament most of all, it is Rabuka himself, because I would be very concerned if he was in control.

He messed up big time in the past and it sure seems like his thinking has never changed. There is obviously a huge gap in intelligence!