FijiFirst MP, Ioane Naivalurua says the 2023/2024 National Budget is silent on the issue of youth unemployment as people are looking for opportunities and better livelihoods and need a government that can create and secure pathways to livelihood in urban centres.
While opposing the budget, Naivalurua says as Fiji’s population becomes more urbanized there is an increasing population of young people who will not find their future on farms or through fishing.
He says a budget must consider future timelines for development and to secure the nation’s economy for the next generation which cannot be seen or heard in the one designed by Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad.
Naivalurua says the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection has the potential to make a difference as he is aware that the ministry is committed to working with civil servants, faith-based organisations and stakeholders to ensure better outcomes of the service delivery and the budget allocation positively reflects some of these changes.
He also says the budget is not new and innovative rather than having the distinction of being the biggest spending budget that Fiji has ever had.
