Bainimarama passes the blame

Army Commander Frank Bainimarama is again refusing to acknowledge that his military coup of December 5 has put Fiji's economy at risk and must be blamed for the enforced pay cuts to civil servants and panic restructuring of the economy.

In trying to stave off a strike by Fiji's public servants, who have had new pay-cut and retirement policies rammed down their throats, Bainimarama tried to blame the government of Laisenia Qarase for Fiji's present economic woes.

He blamed the Qarase Government of ``neglect, mismanagement and poor governance`` which ``has put our economy on a path of decline and we are facing a very serious and precarious situation''.

However, he failed to explain why the economy has nose-dived since the coup, why tourists are still staying away despite recent attempts to repair the damage caused by the political instability, and why his actions of December 5 were directly linked to the withdrawal of badly needed foreign aid.

He has appealed to the union leaders not to go on strike so as not to ``destabilise the good progress we are now making to bring normalcy to our country. I would like to appeal to you to see the bigger picture as we are working hard to build a better Fiji for all.''

And in strong contrast to comments made by Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, Bainimarama said that his ministers would also get the five per cent pay cut forced upon the civil servants.

This assurance came not long after Chaudhry, who had built his power and wealth through his links with a trade union movement, said the ministers would not get a paycut because they were already receving reduced salaries.

Bainimarama also attacked the union leaders, asking if they, too, had made sacrifices.

''Have they taken any pay cut or reduced their privileges in any way?'' he asked, again seeming to want to pass on to others the blame for Fiji's battered economy.

The only good news seem to be his promise that troops presence on the streets will be reduced, a clear backing down to demands by the South Pacific Forum for Fiji to return to elected civilian rule within two years.

Fiji credit rating downgraded

The miltary coup by Frank Bainimarama has had another negative effect on the Fiji economy with cradit ratings agency Standard and Poors saying the country's long-term outlook was not good.

Standard and Poors has lowered two ratings for Fiji saying the long term credit outlook for the country is negative following the December 5th coup.

S&P has lowered the foreign currency rating from B plus to B.

Associate Director Kyran Curry said the decision reflects the increasing external pressures coupled with a pattern of large current account deficits, despite the Reserve Bank's capital controls.

He said the tourism sector is hard hit by the unrest so current account payments would outstrip receipts and the political situation will continue to put off foreign investment and another downgrade is possible if external financing pressures continue.