The leader of Fiji's National Federation Party says the government's new national development plan should have been put to the people of Fiji before its launch in Germany.
The leader of Fiji's National Federation Party, Biman Prasad. Photo: RNZI/Alex Perrottet
The prime minister Frank Bainimarama launched the five and 20-year plans at the COP 23 climate talks in Bonn this week, saying global warming and the threat of climate change helped define Fiji's priorities.
Professor Prasad, who leads one of two opposition parties in the Fiji parliament, said there should have been some debate in parliament first.
"It's a bit of a surprise that none of us in Fiji saw the plan and now we hear that it has been announced in Bonn. The plan is about Fiji.
"The plan is about developments for the people here. At least they should have had the courtesy of announcing the plans in Fiji and letting the people know before they took it to Bonn."
Professor Prasad said he had no issues about taking the plan to Bonn as a way of leveraging international attention and funding but only after it had been presented to people in Fiji.
He said there was serious concern in Fiji about what he described as reckless spending and borrowing.
"We don't know exactly how the plan has been costed, whether there's been a cost attached to the timeline that they're giving and where they're going to source the funding."
