‘Laws need to change to suit businesses, people’
BUSINESS stakeholders in the Sugar City have pleaded with the Government to look into the legislation and regulations that impede ease of doing business in Fiji.
The plea was made to Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad at a recent consultation in Lautoka where he indicated they had identified bottlenecks, the processing of applications and laws that might need to change to suit the needs of the people and businesses, and those of investors who found interests in Fiji.
“It is a real problem, some of us have been raising this issue from opposition,” Prof Prasad said.
“We have done a lot of work, starting with immigration and the Lands department, we are trying to make sure these bottlenecks are removed.
“In December, there will be major announcements because we are losing our labour force and local businesses need to bring in labour and there’s no secret, whether we get them from Bangladesh or the Philippines. This process has to work.”
The Deputy PM informed business owners there would be changes and a lot of improvements in the way things would be done.
He said a lot of the Fijian diaspora hope to return home and invest and live here.
Prof Prasad said regulations would be amended and changed to suit these needs for the betterment of the economy.
“The immigration law where people have to wait for 15 years to get citizenship, who wants to come and wait in Fiji for 15 years to become a citizen?
“Some investors choose to make Fiji their home and all of that will be changed in good time.”