UN General Assembly
2022

Among those wins for sustainable development, the Fijian education revolution is my greatest pride as Prime Minister. For the first time in our history, primary and secondary education are free — not free in name, but free in fact and accessible to all. Textbooks are free. Whether they travel by road, river or ocean, disadvantaged students’ transportation to schools is subsidized. We have extended opportunities for tertiary education beyond what was ever thought imaginable. And today Fijian women outnumber men in our universities. In times of crisis, our constitutional commitments to every Fijian have served us best and mattered most. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic contracted our economy by over 20 per cent. It stole half of our Government revenues, flung over 100,000 Fijians out of full-time employment and pushed us to the precipice of a socioeconomic crisis. Through decisive policy choices, we maintained the strongest possible focus on protecting people and communities. Although our tourism revenue was zero, we paid out income support to the unemployed. We did not slash a cent