Ex-PM says coup cost Fiji dearly in dollars and jobs
Updated
Fiji's former Prime Minister, Laisenai Qarase, says the 2006 coup has cost his country hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. He says that is before Fiji starts counting the cost of the international financial crisis and recent floods. Mr Qarase is in Australia where he is sharing his thoughts on the way forward for Fiji. Mr Qarase's first priority is to build his campaign for the return of democracy but he is also keen for Australians to understand the financial cost of military action.
presenter: Jemima Garrett
speaker: Fiji's former Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase
- Listen:
- Windows Media
Garrett: Fiji's economy is a subject dear to the former Prime Minister's heart. In fact he has spent most of his working life trying to build Fiji's prosperity.
Before going into politics Mr Qarase was a development banker and a senior government finance official. He became Prime Minister, to head-up the interim government that picked up the economic pieces after the 2000 coup.
On the weekend Mr Qarase told the Sydndey Fiji community the 2006 military takover has left his country in deep trouble.
Qarase: Our people have felt the bitter impact of the coup they know the economy we we reconstructing has been shattered by the coup.
Thousands of people, with your relatives, undoubtably among them, lost their jobs or were put onto reduced hours of work. Poverty went up alarmingly and there is little chance of reversing it until we have a proper government in place.
In 2007, the economy contracted by 6.6% of GDP, which placed Fiji in the same bracket as North Korea, Zimabawe and Somalia. We are still trapped in a severe downturn.
The RBF estimates that it will take at least 4 years for Fiji's economy to return to where it was in 2006. This is what it means; from 2007 until 2011, that's four years after the coup, the economy in 2011 will be worse off that what it was in 2006, before the coup.
I will leave it to your imagination the impact of virtually zero growth in terms of our economy for 4 successive years, from 2007 to 2011.
Garrett: Fiji's former Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, speaking in Sydney.
Mr Qarase says the 2 industries that make up Fiji's economic backbone - sugar and tourism - have both been hit hard by the coup.
The losses in tourism, he says, have amounted to around 400 million Fiji dollars a year.
Qarase: Although, the numbers did not decline drastically, it was around 550,000 visitors, the revenue slumped drastically. Why? Simply because the hotels had to reduce their rates very substantially. Also Air Pacific fares were reduced very substantially in order to attract visitors who were coming mainly from Australia and New Zealand.
Imagine losing $F400 million and if you translate that in terms of jobs lost for our Fiji people. You are looking at thousands of jobs lost because of the impact of the coup in 2006.
Garrett: In the sugar industry, Mr Qarase says the picture has been even worse with a huge drop in output and revenue since the coup - the recent floods are another blow.
Qarase: We took a 2 day trip to Ba and Nadi areas, to distribute some food rations to people affected by the floods, and we saw for ourselves the devestation in our sugar cane fields so this year we can expect a further drop in sugar cane production. So we have 2 key industries that support our economy suffering very dadly since the coup of 2006.
