Every Govt Takes Loans, Not Only FijiFirst, says Rabuka
Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) leader Sitiveni Rabuka told about 50 people present during an awareness meeting that every Government took loans and not only the FijiFirst Government.
He was speaking at Cunningham on Thursday night.
This was in response to a question raised regarding the debts incurred by Fiji. “Every country takes loans and not only Fiji. You must not be scared,” Mr Rabuka said.
“When a Government takes a loan, the next government is obliged to pay off that loan. The loan repayment will take some time.”
Change
Mr Rabuka said when people wanted change, they didn’t plan ahead. “People want change, but what they should keep in mind is what they want to see changed,” he said.
SODELPA 'victory'
Mr Rabuka was asked of his plans if SODELPA won the 2018 General Election: Would he stop all the assistance that the FijiFirst Government was providing? “No, we will not stop what this Government is doing. We will continue and improve them. We want life to become affordable for all and for the quality of life to get better,” he said.
“The assistance that this Government is providing has always been there. The only new one it has
Scholarship
Questions of scholarship were raised by participants during the awareness meeting.
“Previous governments also provided scholarships. TELS is a loan kind of scholarship. Before it used to be a bond,” Mr Rabuka said.
“The bond was for four years where they had to first work in Fiji. We will bring that back so that they don’t have to pay back, but for scholarship recipients to work in Fiji initially to generate Fiji’s economy.”
Is SODELPA an iTaukei party?
Mr Rabuka clarified that SODELPA was not an iTaukei party, but a party for all Fijians.
“There are eight tickets given to Fijians of Indian descent for the 2018 General Election, but only four qualified,” he said.
“We have a criteria that prospective candidates must meet when they apply to join the party to stand for election.
“Fijians of Indian descent want security and we will always give them that. “We can’t be seen as an iTaukei party and must embrace policies of other races.”
1987 coups
“Most people remember me for what I did in 1987. They see my starting block but not my reaching the tape,” Mr Rabuka said.