Participants in the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation Top Executives (TOPEX) Conference at the InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa, Natadola. The conference ended last night. Photo: MINFO
By LITIA MATHEWSELL
For the private sector to drive growth Government needs to play a facilitative role and there is simply no substitute for a confident, investing, innovative private sector to foster growth.
These were the sentiments of Acting Permanent Secretary of Finance Akosita Drova.
She was speaking at the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation Top Executive (TOPEX) Conference at the InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa, Natadola which ended last night.
Ms Drova delivered a presentation on the role of the private sector in enhancing investment and growth in Fiji’s economy.
Labelling the private sector as the entry for sustainable economic growth, she noted that Government’s scarce resources saw reliance on private sector income.
This is through taxes and on their creation for employment opportunities.
“Private sector investment had fallen to quite low levels in the past and these were due to global economic uncertainties and crisis- there were high costs of doing business, a lot of bureaucracy and red tape within the process and corruption,” she said.
She said the weakened private sector activities had seen Government play a dominant role to attempt and sustain investments and economic activities.
“However, this can only be temporary as it is not sustainable in the long term and is why I would like to re-emphasis that the private sector has to be the engine of growth with Government providing and enabling a business friendly environment.”