Chamber: No real support to SMEs

THE Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has highlighted there were no real assistance to the SMEs which had been affected since last year.

A few board members expressed their concerns to this newspaper last week, stating that the cost of doing business was noted to have increased as well because of COVID-19 protocol and law output.

One of the board members reported there were a lot of vacant flats in Nadi and an increased number of property sale showing signs of recession.

Another board member proposed a reduction of Energy Fiji Ltd tariffs to old rates for the next six months.

They alleged EFL was charging estimated bills and enforcing disconnection when most of the businesses were closed during the lockdown and incurred bills next to nothing.

They also urge EFL to consider payment arrangements instead of disconnecting the electricity, as money was scarce for many small business operators.

High unnecessary bank charges, according to the board members, should also be reduced as once these reductions were made it could then be passed on to tenants as discounted rents.

Certain business owners were reported to find it cheaper to keep businesses closed as fixed costs such as wages, electricity, rents etc had remained with the minimal sale.

The board member stated most of the businesses were trying to continue running, but at a loss.

“Soon we will see smaller day-to-day businesses which are the backbone of Nadi’s economy shutting its door completely. This will give further rise to the unemployment numbers,” they stated.